Silenced
by whatyousee
Summary: What happens when the people you are meant to protect, can't call for help? Will Sam and Dean be able to save the victims of some supernatural murderers? Will they be able to save each other? And who, from Sam's past, will meet them along the way?
1. The Truth Hurts

Silenced

Chapter One: The Truth Hurts

Another long road to yet another job. They hadn't even arrived at their next destination and already he had a head ache. Then again he always had a headache now a days but he blamed this one solely on the loud music coming through the ancient speakers and the bass pounding through the floor of the old classic. Normally he would be able to put up with the music because it always seemed to keep both of them distracted enough not to get too serious or even too bored by the long drives constantly to god knows where. But this time was different. This time the music wasn't meant to appease them, it was meant to stall. Six hours ago they had been by the water, drinking beer and finally finishing with one very trying and unexpectedly harsh job when a bomb shell was dropped.

_Right before Dad died…he told me something….he told me something about you._

And just like that his interest and suspicion had gone through the roof. But being the very annoying pain in the ass brother that he was, Dean had simply turned and walked away, heading straight for the car. Sam had followed asking, damn near pleading, Dean to tell him what it was that there father had said. Dean had stopped momentarily without turning around, his head drooped slightly and his shoulders hunched forward.

"I can't Sam."

"Why not? I mean Dean, you can't say that and then just not tell me what he told you!"

"I can't Sam! I promised him that I wouldn't and I can't go back on that," Dean had finally turned around to face his brother to tell him this, his shoulders and head had come up in sudden determination. Sam had taken a step back and momentarily understanding flickered in his eyes along with an underlying pity that Dean immediately dismissed and ignored. Quickly though his brother's eyes had returned to looking at him with frustration and pleading.

"Dean…I know you want to keep this, I get it. But you know that you can't keep this from me. I mean if this is about that demon and what he wants, you know you're gonna have to tell me!"

Dean had looked away momentarily trying to mask the guilt at keeping this from his brother knowing that Sam was right, eventually he would spill. He would have to, he'd never been able to keep something from Sam for long, especially when Sam begged. But in that one moment Sam got his answer, he saw the guilt and fear flash for a mere fraction of a second and knew that that's exactly what it was about. Secretly Sam's own fears had started to build and his heart sped up, fuelled by his anxiety.

"That's exactly what it is isn't it?" Sam waited for the answer but Dean had masked his eyes once again throwing up the walls that Sam had still yet to master himself. Having gotten no response Sam continued.

"This demon wants something and you know what it is…don't you? This has been killing me, wondering what it was that this bastard wanted so much! And Dad knew the whole time didn't he?"

Sam's voice had risen slightly with each word, his anger building inside him towards his father. He had felt guilty about being angry towards him considering everything that had happened but he couldn't believe his father would keep this from him.

Dean didn't move, he just looked at Sam, letting him rant and get it out of his system so that he could start his journey to the car again.

When Dean didn't react at all except to get a rather inpatient 'are you done yet?' look in his eyes which just angered Sam more, he took a step forward trying to intimidate the answers out of the elder. He knew it was probably not going to work but at the moment he was desperate and was willing to try pretty much anything.

"I've got to know what it is Dean! You've got to tell me eventually so that I know what to prepare for! Back in the clinic you said 'this weight on my shoulders'. I want to help you man! Just, please tell me what it is so I can at least share the load."

Sam had meant for his outburst to be intimidating but unfortunately when he had remembered about the situation earlier, his attempt quickly faded into one of comfort and once again he knew that it probably wouldn't work. This time though he did get a response from the older man, he turned on his heel and began climbing the stairs up to the road where the car sat. Sam, who had been momentarily frozen in place quickly headed after him but kept his mouth shut. One glance at his brother's posture and he knew that if he spoke again he'd more than likely get a fist to the face and that was the last thing that he needed to deal with right now.

They had reached the car and silently took their respective seats. They sat there for a moment lost in thought, Sam trying desperately to come up with a way to get his brother to open up and tell him what had been quietly torturing him for the past months since the cabin. Dean on the other hand, was thinking of a way to get out of this situation while berating himself for even saying anything in the first place when he should have just kept his mouth shut. But he knew he couldn't have even if he had wanted to. One look at his brother after the others had left, sitting on the exam table with tears running down his face, pleading with him to leave him, and he knew that he would have to say something and that it might blow his cover. He needed to give Sam a reason for why he couldn't just leave him and he had said something that he didn't think would lead to the secret the way it had done.

_Who says I want to?_

Five simple words and everything he had done to keep this secret a secret was shot to hell. To tell the truth he had really wanted to tell Sam the secret but he knew he couldn't…not yet anyways. There were two reasons for this. His father had entrusted him with this secret and he couldn't go back on that even knowing that the man was gone and probably would never find out about it. It just felt too much like betrayal for Dean and he already had the guilt of the death weighing him down.

The other reason though was much more important and he knew that for him not to give up the secret right there and then he would have to cling to this reason as if his life depended on it. If Sam knew the truth it would shatter his world and Dean couldn't allow that to happen. He hated that he would be the one responsible for it too. So he had to stall for as long as possible.

_I'm sorry Sammy but not yet. I'm not ready and neither are you._

And with that thought in mind he had put the car in gear and headed out onto the road in the direction of their next destination.


	2. A Needed Distraction

Chapter 2: A Needed Distraction

Since they had left Rivergrove they headed north east going nowhere in particular, just trying to get as far away from that place as they could. The fact that everyone had just vanished unnerved them both, although of course neither would admit it.

After about an hour or so they came upon a diner and decided to get something. They still weren't't talking to each other so Sam thought he might as well start looking for their next gig but hoped that maybe once they both relaxed a little more he could try for the secret again.

They entered the small building and took a quick glance around out of habit. Spotting a table near the back they headed towards it taking in their surroundings. It was just an average diner with nothing sticking out which probably meant that they'd forget it by tomorrow and it would join the countless other forgotten diners. They took their seats and waited for someone to take their order. It didn't take long and to Dean's dismay a young man approached them, fishing a note pad out of his apron. He glanced at them and lingered a few seconds longer then was necessary on Sam who was now putting his laptop on the table getting ready for the onslaught of information waiting him. Dean picked up the boy's stare immediately and had to try really hard to suppress the laugh that wanted so badly to be heard.

_Nah. I'll let Sammy figure it out himself first…_

The boy then came to his senses and realized he'd been standing there quietly eyeing the man a little too long and blushed slightly as he looked down at his notepad.

"What's it gonna be guys?"

Sam finally looked up and politely smiled before saying, "Just a burger, fries and coke thanks."

The boy stared for a second then quickly wrote down what Sam had told him, hoping to god the man didn't see his hands shaking slightly and the blush he knew was there that surfaced again when Sam had smiled.

"I'll have what he's havin," Dean said once again trying really hard not to let the laugh out and decided instead a knowing grin would do for now. He directed it at Sam as he saw his brother start to put things together.

"OK, sure. You're orders should be up soon ." And with that the boy glanced once more at Sam before quickly turning and practically running back into the kitchen. Once he left Sam looked after him trying to figure out what had just happened when realization dawned. He quickly turned his head away and looked at his laptop which he was hastily trying to open.

And that was the last straw. Dean burst out laughing and was quickly grabbing everyone's attention although only three or four other people were at the tables. He couldn't control himself and as he saw his brother's face slowly turn beet red he only started to laugh harder. He was clutching at his sides trying desperately to make the pain in his ribs stop but failing miserably when his brother glared at him.

Sam sat there silently wishing that he was invisible, knowing that the boy could probably hear Dean right now braying like the ass he was.

"Can you stop! Everyone in this entire state can hear you!" Sam whispered trying to sound unfazed but he knew he sounded pathetic.

Dean kept laughing for a good five minutes before he finally could control himself enough that his ribs stopped hurting and he was able to sit up. Sam had practically crawled under the table by then and was glaring at him as if he wanted to tear Dean's head off.

"Well at least someone likes your geeky ass. You should go for it Sammy" Dean said with a sly grin on his face getting the laughter down to a controllable chuckle.

"Shut up Dean. It's not like guys don't ever eye you!" Sam shot back once again glaring at his brother and turning on his laptop so that he could find something fast and change the topic.

"True. But I mean can you blame them? No one can resist this face dude." Dean motioned at himself and then let out one final chuckle before dropping it. He knew that this was one more thing he could add to his artillery against his brother.

Silence pressed in around them, once again leaving Dean's thoughts to weigh him down. The light moment again had fled like so many before leaving only discomfort. While Sam sat typing away searching for their next gig Dean figured he should distract himself and help. Getting up he went to the counter to grab a few newspapers and returned to the table noting that Sam once again looked like he was brooding.

_Little brother should learn to lighten up._

He sat back down and started flipping through the paper in search of anything. His hunter's senses kicking in every now and then as he read, telling him if it was supernatural or not. Both the boys were doing the same thing, using the same parts of themselves to search for lives that needed to saved or things that just needed to be flat out killed.

While they were looking the boy from earlier came back with their orders. Sam shot a glance at him and quickly looked down when he saw the boy looking at him…again. Dean looked up as well and noted that the kid didn't even look at him, just Sam. Once again he fought the urge to laugh when Sam looked down and settled for a quick laugh and smile when the kid was gone.

A little while later, when their food was done, Sam came across a headline that caught his attention. His brow furrowed in concentration as he began to read the article. He skimmed through it picking out facts that mattered and dismissing ones that didn't. He didn't notice Dean doing the same thing from across the table.

All of a sudden Sam's eyebrows rose and he looked up to find Dean looking at him with the same expression.

"Found something?" They both asked in unison. Taking a quick moment to grin at each other they once again became serious and Sam let Dean go first.

"Ok, well I found something on two murders. The victims were both found in their homes on their beds. Both victims were missing their hearts and there were no other signs of struggle, no bruises, nothing broken, no forced entry. They didn't find anything to prove that anyone had been there either. Another weird thing is that nobody heard anything…no screams, not nothing." Dean said glancing around the short article as he laid out the story.

Sam took it in and then nodded. "Yah I found the same thing. It happened in Vale, Oregon. Definitely sounds like our kind of gig, and it won't take long to get there. I think we should check it out."

"Alright. Well what did you get…anything the article I have left out?" Dean asked putting the paper down and leaning over the table slightly. He was getting interested and was eager to get a move on to this case. He could think of a few things that would remove hearts and knew how to get rid of each one so figured this would be an easy hunt.

"Um…" Sam looked once again at the screen and scrolled down further coming across another article from the same place. His eyebrows immediately shut up and his mouth dropped open ever so slightly.

"Wow…turns out the same place is under quarantine. The government is investigating what they think is some kind of virus. It says here that the residents of the town can't speak. It's like their voices just disappeared and the government figures it's some kind of virus that you can't feel or something. They have no idea what it could possibly be so they're investigating the town."

Dean listened intently and quickly ran through the list he had created in his head of possible culprits. None of them could steal voices like that.

"Well this just definitely became our kind of thing. You know of anything that can do that?"

"Nope nothing comes to mind. How does something just steal everyone's voices like that? A spell maybe? Like witches or something?"

"No, I don't think so. That wouldn't explain the hearts missing. And I don't know if there is a spell for taking voices. Anyways we should go check it out, so how far to Vale?" Dean was starting to get restless and wanted to hit the road even though he knew it would be uncomfortable with what happened earlier. He also wanted to work out a plan to get into the quarantine zone so they could find this thing and deal with it.

"Um…it's about 7 hours from here. Pretty much a straight shot on Highway 26 all the way to Vale. How are we gonna get past the quarantine though?"

"I'm working on it. Come on let's go." Dean said as he stood and grabbed the newspapers off the table replacing them with money to cover the bill and leaving a larger tip then he normally would. Sam followed suit after he closed his laptop and pretended not to notice the extra amount of cash on the table as he stalked out of the diner trying to get past the kid without being noticed. Dean went up to the counter to put the papers back and saw the kid eyeing his brother from the kitchen as Sam walked out. Once again he smiled and shook his head and followed his brother out.

They both reached the car and got in. The engine came to life beneath them as the black beauty purred lovingly and Dean patted the dash with a grin on his face. Sam just rolled his eyes and sat back getting ready for the drive.

As they left, Sam's mind was at work coming up with a way to bring them back to the earlier conversation and was failing miserably. His mouth kept opening and closing, ready to say something but realizing he shouldn't say that or that he could come up with something better.

Finally he opened his mouth and took a breath, about to speak when Dean decided he really liked this song. Reaching forward the elder turned the volume to the radio on full blast so that _I Disappear _by Metallica muted any of Sam's attempts at talking to Dean. Closing his mouth, clearly frustrated, annoyed and even hurt, Sam sat back and looked out the window slouching into the seat with a dejected look on his face.

_This is great. Nice long drive with my older brother completely avoiding me should do me good. _

_Damn road trip._


	3. Quarantine

Chapter 3: Quarantine

Frustration had been building since the music had first started and it was beginning to reach boiling point. Dean was still conveniently lost in the lyrics of the current song while Sam silently fumed beside him. He hadn't moved from his hunched position and if he could slouch anymore his chin would be on the floor. They were now into their third hour of driving and hadn't said a word to each other because every time Sam went to say something Dean would start to sing.

_As if just the music wasn't bad enough._

Not sure how much longer he'd be able to keep himself from a total hissy fit, which he knew would come to haunt him later, Sam decided to check up more on the case they had picked out. Dragging his laptop out of the backseat he put the computer on his lap and turned it on. Pulling up the news articles he had found and saved, he began to read them again, this time taking in each and every word now that he knew that this was their gig.

Vale was a small town of about 2000 people with a mayor and a small council. It only had one historical attraction and was very popular for hunting things like pheasant.

_Yah, now this town's gonna be popular for hunting something else completely._

Dean finally notices his brother reading intently and decides now would be a good time to talk about something that wouldn't cause more tension then there already was. Reaching over he turned down Quiet Riot and cleared his throat.

"So what else did you find on this place?" he asked as Sam looked up from the laptop and then glanced back down to go over what he had picked out once again to relay it to his brother.

"It's a small place, like two thousand people. Not known for much except for The Old Stone house which is a Eastern Oregon museum. The town was placed under quarantine only three days ago and the first murder was committed the day after that one and the second murder was committed last night." Sam finished and looked up at hi brother to get his response.

"Ok, so whatever is killing these people definitely is responsible for the missing voices. What exactly does it say about the murders? Any details on whether the person was restrained or alive when the heart was removed?"

"Nope, nothing. They just say they were found in their homes, on their beds, with their heart missing. Not much detail. So what you think that once we get in we hit the morgue?"

"Sounds like a plan to me." Dean kept his eyes on the road, his mind racing with what the murderer could be. He also predicted the next question that came out of the younker's mouth.

"How are we gonna get into the quarantine zone?" Sam asked still looking at him and also trying to think of ways to bypass the blockades he knew were waiting a mere three hours away. It had just started to get dark out so by the time they got to Vale they'd either have to worm their way in or keep driving to find a motel to whole up for the night.

"I'm still working on it. I was thinkin' feds? Maybe doctors?" Dean really didn't know what to do. He kind of had an urge to just wing it but knew that his brother was not gonna like that idea at all.

_Such a stickler for details Sammy._

"I don't think the doctors thing is gonna work. We could try the feds but…what do we really know about quarantine? I mean maybe we could just pretend to be someone for the town and say we were on vacation or something and try to get in that way." Sam was sceptical about it but he had heard of it working before.

Neither of the boys had a solid strategy on how to get in. To say they felt comfortable with the whole quarantine thing would be a lie. After what had happened just the day before they had a sudden urge to stay away from so called viruses and mystery diseases. But still, they both knew this was their job and that they chose this case. They couldn't abandon it now.

"Well we got another three hours to figure this out so…I'll have something by then," Dean told Sam with resolution.

Sam wasn't so sure but knew that if all else failed they'd just wing it. He had faith in himself but even more than that he had faith in Dean. They could get past anything and anyone, nothing had yet come between them and a hunt.

_Yah and let's keep it that way._

So he went back to the research as Dean once again leaned forward and turned up the music. They both knew yet again that the music was the only barrier standing in between them, creating a false silence for them to lose themselves in their own thoughts.

Only two hours later, thanks to Dean's driving, they arrived at the edges of Vale and were greeted with a site they hoped they wouldn't have to come across for a while longer. They came across a road block surrounded by police and a few army troops spread out here and there. Feds were walking from tent to tent on the side of the road along with CDC men in those ridiculous looking white bubble suits.

As they approached the road block the police officer on the side of the road waved them down and stepped towards the car with a flashlight in his hand because, as Sam had expected, it was night now.

"You boys looking to get in? This is a quarantine zone and no one can go in or out sorry. You guys are gonna have to turn around and find another way through." The officer ran the script that Dean suspected the officer had memorized earlier.

Sitting quietly until he finished Dean formed his face into one full of worry and slight panic. Looking at the cop with wide eyes he asked, "Is everyone alright? Is anyone hurt?"

The cop's eyebrows knitted together and looked the boys over trying to gage whether or not they were telling the truth. He has his doubts because he had seen the license plate on the old Chevy classic and if they tried to say they lived here then chances are they were lying.

Sam had picked up on his brother's plan and immediately changed his own appearance. Pulling out his best scared, puppy-dog eyed look he stared at the cop from the passenger seat.

Obviously the looks must have been convincing because the older man, probably in his late 40s, looked at them concerned.

"You boys from around here? Cause your license plate says this car is from Kansas."

Dean answered quickly having already finished weaving his thick web of lies, "Our family lives here. We got a call about five days ago from my uncle in Kansas saying that he was selling his car cause he knew that I always had loved it. We headed out there that day and picked it up. Is anyone in there hurt? Do you know if our family's alright?"

_Well at least the feelings about the car were true._

The officer once again looked them over and seemed to accept their story as he waved over a fed and quickly relayed their story to him. The fed then turned to them with a near emotionless face that seemed to be contagious because no one else that the boys could see, other than the cop, seemed to having any emotions showing at all.

"You boys realize that if you go in there chances are you'll catch whatever it is that's spreading. If you go in you aren't coming out until we get the figured out. There's no turning back gentlemen."

Dean looked at him having not changed his expression of worry and silent pleading.

_Wouldn't want to be a gentlemen unless it paid. Then again…_

"Alright we'll let you through but you're doing this on your own risk. Don't expect to stay in there without problems."

And with that they opened the road block, letting the boys through before closing it again. As they drove further from the fences less and less light got to them eventually plunging them into darkness. Obviously the town was also under a curfew. Dean glanced around in front of them finally spotting the town a few miles ahead where there were few, if any lights.

_Great, no bar, no nothing. Only Mr. Emo asking his damn questions. No distractions…wonderful._

They got to the turn little while later and stopped at the first small motel they found. Dean ran in to get them a room. As he entered he noticed no one behind the counter so he walked up and pressed the bell on the desk. A few moments later a middle aged man walked out from a back room looking at him questionably but didn't say anything.

"One room with two beds." Dean told the man who momentarily didn't move a look of shock crossing over his face. He then snapped out of it and grabbed a pen and paper and began scribbling across it. Dean looked at what the man was doing confused.

Then the man held the pad out to him. Dean took it and read, "Twin or queen?" That's when Dean's brain kicked in dragging out of his habits that had been driving him so far. This man had lost his voice…of course. So had everyone else in this town.

"Two queens thanks." Dean said with signature grin. Handing the pad back to the man and getting his key when the man presented it to him once again with the pad that read "Room 3".

Thanking him, Dean turned and walked back towards the car so they could grab a parking spot and settle themselves in the room. Once they had put all their bags in the room and were settled it was the same familiar scene. Dean sitting on the bed with his weapons set out on the bed across for him to clean, Sam sitting at the small table with the laptop in front of him researching things that had the power to steal voices.

"So Sammy. You find anything yet?" Dean asked looking up from the glock he was cleaning to look at his brother and wait for his response. It's not like he needed to look at the gun to know what he was doing anyways.

Sam sighed and rubbed his eyes already starting to feel tired and that damn headache had come back full force.

"Not anything that would explain the hearts too. I mean I keep coming across things that take hearts and one or two things about a silencing spell but nothing that would match hem together. The spells don't require any kind of sacrifice so I'm ruling the whole spell thing out. I dunno, I'm not getting anything that could work."

Dean sat there thinking over everything they knew but once again coming up empty handed when he tried to match it to the demons and ghouls he had memorized. So instead he tried to find facts that seemed out of place or just strange.

"Well this thing is taking people's voices from them and then taking their hearts. Why would they take the voices though? Just a sick control thing or a weakness?"

"Well it could be that whatever this is is sensitive to noise or some kind of sound that people make but there's loads of different things that the sound could be." Sam was still looking at the computer screen but now his eyes were slightly squinted against the pain building in his temples. He absently rubbed at his head while skimming the page.

Dean picked this up and protective Dean kicked in.

"You alright Sammy?" He tried to sound passive but knew that chances were this was going to lead to a vision and he wasn't looking forward to that.

"Yeah it's just a headache. Don't worry it's not a vision," Sam said still squinting at the screen.

Dean figured he was telling the truth so he chalked it up to the computer screen his brother was constantly staring at. Also the fact that they just had one hell of a week and the stress was probably finally taking it's toll on the younger.

"Alright, how bout we get some rest. We gotta head over to the morgue tomorrow to check out those bodies. Then I guess we should go talk to family and friends. You know the drill."

"Yah alright. Probably won't be able to find anything right now anyways." San closed the laptop and grabbed his sleeping stuff out of his bag disappearing into the bathroom while Dean packed up his cleaned weapons and put them back into the duffel they had come out of.

When Sam emerged they traded places, Sam sitting on his bed and Dean going to the bathroom to get changed.

Looking at the clock Sam saw it was one in the morning. They hadn't slept since they got to Rivergrove except for a few hours after everyone had vanished.

_No wonder I'm so damn tired._

Lying back on the bed he decided he'd close his eyes for a few seconds until Dean got back and then he'd try to bring up the secret again. As much as he knew he should let it go for a while he just couldn't. He was angry and worried and more than anything, scared about this secret. He wanted to know what the hell this Demon wanted from him.

_Do I really want to know? What would it change anyways? You'd still be no match for it…and your powers wouldn't come in handy._

Not for the first time Sam wondered if it was just his powers that the Demon wanted and again he thought that maybe it wouldn't be so bad to just give them up to him. They were never there to save the ones he loved and it would give him a chance to be normal again. The pain and headaches would go away and he wouldn't have to worry about hunters finding out about him and deciding he was some kind of supernatural threat too.

_But what would happen to me when he took them?_

When Dean emerged from the bathroom he saw his brother lying on his bed softly snoring. Having not pulled the cover over himself Dean went over and did it for him. Carefully he ran a hand softly over his brother's tired face and sighed.

_Why my brother? What did he ever do wrong?_

"I'm so sorry Sammy, but not yet. I can't do that to you." And Dean turned away and went to his own bed lying down and settling in before turning off the light and placing his hand under his pillow to grab the warm hilt or his oh so faithful hunting knife.

Two hours later found the boys both sound asleep. It was the first quiet, uneventful sleep they had had as long as they could remember.

The peace was carefully disturbed as an almost nonexistent mist flowed from under the door, not making a sound. It edged towards the boys and carefully swirled around their heads but never touched them. Slowly it seeped into the tiny opening between their lips and ducked inside for only a second before pulling back. It then disappeared under the door leaving no trace that it was ever there.

Neither boy was disturbed as a white mist silently leaked from there mouths muffling their quiet snores. The mists slipped across the floor and followed the same path as the other had travelled and disappeared into the night

Somewhere in the distance a box slammed shut.


	4. Hush

Chapter 4: Hush

_Sammy turn the damn alarm off!_

As the blaring continued, Dean turned over onto his back, refusing to open his eyes. His arm flailed over the side of the bed in search of the intrusive alarm. He finally found it and slammed down on the snooze button a little harder than was necessary. He let his arm hang back down as he tried desperately to cling to the sleep bogging down his brain but unfortunately it was too late and the fog began to lift.

_Great not even an extra couple of minutes. That alarm got off easy…_

While he lay in his bed, his eyes still closed, he noticed that he didn't hear anything coming from the other bed. Normally if there was noise it would be coming from the bathroom or the little table in the corner of the room where Sam would be tapping away on the keyboard. But there was nothing so he knew he had to check to see if his brother was even still there.

He cracked his eyes open cautiously against the glare of the sun coming through the window next to the door. He sat there for a minute waiting for the door to open and his brother to appear holding a nice big cup of coffee for his awesome big brother. But as time passed and nothing happened, Dean got bored so he turned to sit up. Then he spotted something he hadn't expected at all.

Sam was lying in bed with his back towards his brother. Dean quickly glanced at the clock, 7:06 am. A small smile appeared on his face.

_Finally the poor kid gets to sleep without the damn visions or nightmares._

But his smile slowly faded when he saw that his brother wasn't moving and he wasn't making any noise, not even the quiet snores that always accompanied the little sleep that he got. Quickly his instincts took over as he got off the bed and hurried around his sibling's mattress so that he could crouch in front of his brother and look him in the face.

As he crouched he lay a hand on his brother's shoulder in preparation to shake him but also to know that his brother's skin was still warm. He sighed with relief when he felt that it was, now he just had to wake him up. He softly shook his brother's shoulder.

_Sam?_

Nothing. He saw his brother's chest rise and fall gently with the deep breaths of sleep. He had a content and relaxed look on his face and it even looked as if some of the colour that Dean had noticed his baby brother seemed to be missing nowadays, had returned. He almost felt sorry for having to wake his brother up, but they had to get going or they'd lose interrogation time.

Again he shook his brother's shoulder, a little harder this time. Sam only responded by turning over onto his back and falling back into the black of sleep. Dean sighed and stood to get a better grip on his little brother's shoulder so he could shake him harder. And as he shook he finally got the groan that he was looking for, the one that signified Sam's return to the real world.

_Dean, five more minutes._

He waited to hear his words so that Dean would back off. Suddenly his awareness came back and he slowly opened his eyes, blinking the sleep from them. He stared up at Dean confused, trying to figure out what was going on. Dean saw his brother's expression and returned Sam's look of confusion.

_What time is it?_ he asked Dean. Or at least he thought he asked. He didn't hear anything come from his mouth and suddenly had to keep down a rising sense of panic.

Dean had seen Sam's mouth move and his confused expression only grew more intense as he tried to make out what his brother was trying to say. When he saw the slightly panicked look in Sam's eyes he knew he had to say something.

_It's ok Sammy. What are you trying to say? _He waited for Sam to answer before he realized what Sam had noticed about himself. He didn't hear anything come out of his mouth.

Both boys simply looked at each other before realization hit them like a speeding train, sending them into a moment of shock. Then as quickly as it had impacted Dean he recovered and turned, rushing to the small motel room table grabbing up a pen and a pad of paper when he got there.

_Alright Sammy. We can't talk to each other anymore so I guess we're just gonna have to write everything down. Damn…my hand is gonna hurt like a bitch._

He scribbled out his message to Sam before turning back to his brother who was still sitting on his bed in shock, staring at Dean. He offered the pad in Sam's direction waiting for him to snap back to reality. That seemed to do it as Sam slowly got up and walked towards Dean, taking the pad from him. He just stood there for a moment as the fog of sleep and shock lifted from his brain before looking down and reading the message,

"This bitch is going down," it said in Dean's hasty scrawl.

Sam couldn't help the smile that broke out on his face as it sliced through the remaining emotions weighing down his psyche. He stepped beside Dean and grabbed the pen from him, placing the pad on the table in order to write his response. When he finished, he angled it towards Dean so he could read it.

"All this writing is gonna be a bitch."

It seemed that even though they couldn't talk to each other they still understood each other just fine. It was Dean's turn to give into the smile that crept onto his face, he couldn't believe how well his brother knew him but he would never tell his brother that.

The boys knew what they had to do next and so they didn't really have to go over that part of the plan. They decided to save their hands the torture of writing it all out by just going with what they had planned before. First they go to the morgue to examine the bodies and try to pick up any more details that the news articles missed. But before that they figured they should pick up some extra pads pf paper so that they wouldn't run out in mid sentence and have to play a very embarrassing game of charades in the middle o the interrogations.

It was eerie to get ready in silence. Normally they would be running over details and sorting out a game plan for the future, going over any other things that might need revision for this case. Instead they took turns in the shower, darted around the room getting dressed and packing any things they might need without a syllable being said, not that it would come out. Once they had gathered everything they glanced at each other and both nodded at each other to show they were ready and steppe out into the parking lot, Dean closing the motel room door behind him.

They reached the Impala and threw heir things in the back seat before settling in the front. Dean turned the ignition and the car sprang to life, making more noise than the brothers had heard all morning. It calmed them both, just the reassurance that it was indeed their voices that had been stolen and not their hearing.

Reaching forward out of habit, Dean turned on the radio and settled back in his seat while _Drown You Out _by Crossfade blared through the speakers. Both boys stopped to glance at the radio then each other, grimacing. As their eyes met they both shook their heads and Dean reached forward to his Metallica tape in.

_Yah sure…just rub it in._

Now that _Seek and Destroy _was playing Dean changed gears and pulled out of the parking lot onto the nearly empty roads. They figured they'd stop to eat because stores wouldn't be open yet anyways, then they'd get their paper and go to the morgue.

Unknown to Sam, Dean was silently thanking whatever it was that took their voices. He didn't like that he was, but he'd rather not be able to talk then to have to hear Sam beg him for that secret one more time. Another chick flick moment like the one beside the water and he might just give it up. He couldn't let himself do that, both for himself and for his baby brother.

_Maybe for a while it won't be so bad. He doesn't get to beg me and there's no chance I'm going to spill now. Sorry man but you've got to wait…hopefully a lot more._

As he was thinking he didn't realize that he was 'singing' along to the music because if he had he would have also been aware of the look he was getting. Sam sat in the passenger seat, staring at his brother with a look that said 'psycho much?'. He had his mouth open and was smiling incredulously at his sibling. Obviously the older man hadn't quite gotten the whole 'no voices means no singing' idea through his head.

Sam decided he'd let it continue and see how long it would take his brother to figure out what he was doing. And so Sam sat in silence watching his brother with a smile on his face thinking evil thoughts on how he could use this against Dean later.

_Maybe for a while it won't be so bad. No singing, no sly remarks, no flirting…could be worth it._ Sam thought to himself.


	5. Three's A Crowd

Chapter Five: Three's a Crowd

They pulled up to the building that had the sign labelled 'Morgue' outside of it but sat there unconvinced. The building didn't exactly give you the feeling of death so much as the urge to vomit. It sat in the middle of the parking lot on the outskirts of the town. It was a two-story building painted a nice pink salmon colour with cheery awnings and flowers beds on either side of the doors.

_How does someone paint a morgue pink? That's just wrong on so many levels._

They picked a parking spot and got out of the car, Dean locking the doors out of protective habit. There was only two other cars in the lot so they figured they had to face a receptionist and a mortician. Should be simple enough…except for the one little snag they had come across. Not being able to talk was slowly starting to wear on the brothers; apparently it wasn't going to be as acceptable as they thought it would be originally.

They walked up to and through the doors. Just as Dean had suspected a jingling met their ears as the door opened and then again when it closed behind them. Cringing Dean stalked over to the receptionist's desk, Sam following him.

Dean visibly perked up when he saw the young woman sitting behind the desk staring at her computer screen, clearly bored out of her mind. She heard their approaching footsteps and raised her head to see who would be at a morgue at eight in the morning, aside from herself of course.

As she looked over the men in front of her, her mood also visibly changed. She took in the worn clothing and the boys underneath them, every detail that she could pick up on them without staring. She liked the shorter one; he was definitely the bad boy of the group and just screamed talent. But the taller one didn't seem to match his friend; he seemed to be intellectual and caring. Just looking into his eyes she felt safer and trusted him.

Dean came to a stop in front of the desk as he did an inspection of his own. Red hair, blue eyes, fair skin, full lips and a shapely body. Definitely his kind of woman and he quickly let his award winning, 'melt any girls heart' smile spread across his face.

He opened his mouth to say something when he felt a nudge in his side. Looking over at the source, Sam stared back at him with a 'what are you doing' look on his face. Dean looked at him like he was crazy for a second before remembering, then turned back to the girl slightly embarrassed.

_Damn…I can't even flirt? Come on aren't there exceptions for special cases!?_

He pulled three things out of his inner jacket pocket: a pad of paper, a pen and his 'ID'. Putting the paper on the desk, he quickly scribbled a note on the paper casting a glance out of the corner of his eye at Sam who looked like he would say "DUH" if he could.

His note finished, he handed the pad to the girl. She took it and read through it before glancing back up at him and mouthing "ID?" Which Dean quickly flipped open to show her, leaving it for a few seconds before flipping it back closed. She seemed to accept the fed's ID he had shown her and quickly scribbled a note on the paper.

When she was done she gave it to Dean who read it. "Who are you here to see?". Dean scribbled as quickly as he could and gave it back. Sam stood behind Dean not bothering to interject because Dean had the only pad of paper they currently possessed. The stores weren't open yet otherwise they would have bought more. So instead he let himself be a bystander and accepted that Dean was doing all the work, that thought didn't bother him at all.

Finished, and quickly loosing his patience with the whole writing thing, Dean passed the note back to the woman who read it then pointed to a door just down the hallway to their left. Dean and Sam both looked at the door then back to the woman, smiled their thanks and turning to follow the directions she had just given them.

She watched after them momentarily admiring both boys but one more than the other.

_Why couldn't I ever find a man like that? I wonder what his voice would sound like…_

The boys approached the door with the name tag declaring that the was the office of "Evans M.E." They knocked and waited for an answer as they heard someone scuffling around in the room hidden behind the door. Evans opened the door and cast a questioning glance over the two men in front of him. Dean quickly responded by pulling out his 'ID' and flashing it for the man.

Accepting the two men in front of him as feds he opened the door wider to grant the men entry into the office. Sam followed Dean in and glanced around the mid-sized space. It was simple but cozy with a desk and chair on one side of the room. Filing cabinets were lined against the wall behind the desk and another wall on the other side of the room.

Evans walked over to one of the filing cabinets and opened the top drawer. He rummaged around for a few minutes then produced a faded orange file and placed it on the desk that was standing in between him and the feds. Dean stepped forward and picked up the rather large file. He quickly flipped through it, casting a questioning look at the M.E. in front of him. Evans then reached over to his laptop and began to type.

Sam stepped closer to the desk, trying to read over Dean's shoulder but was distracted when Evans turned the computer to face him. He then leaned forward, eyes squinting, to read the message written across the screen in a small font. Finished, he shot a glance at the mortician, amusement evident on his face as he straightened, the older man sharing Sam's expression. Dean then leaned forward to read the message for himself.

"I got so damn tired of writing the same answers to the same damn questions over and over every time the cops came in. So I put everything I possibly could in that file. Every detail about the deceased, their current condition, possibilities about what could have happened and how. Also all my theories and everything else that I could think of. Everything you gentlemen need should be there."

Dean now mirrored his brother's expression and nodded his thanks, offering his hand to Evans as proof of his thanks. The man shook it and then offered his hand to Sam who immediately shook it and mouthed a thanks before following his brother to the door and exiting.

They headed back down the hall towards the front door which would then lead them to the horror that was the exterior of the building. Before Dean pulled himself out the door he glanced back at the woman sitting behind the counter in front of her computer. However, his glance went unnoticed as she was focused on something else. No, she didn't notice him at all.

_Damn! Come on! What's wrong with these people! Did someone drop a 'everybody loves Sam' pill in the water or something!?_

Then they left, Dean huffing silently, and got into the Impala. The next stop was the houses of the families of the two victims. They took off in the direction of the first victim's place which, as Evans had promised, was in the file.

Sam sat quietly (like he had a choice) in the passenger seat looking through the oversized file. He was gonna take in as much about this as he could before his brain would overload. But thankfully he had a large brain capacity, unlike his brother who HAD to have ADD, either that or something was just wrong.

Apparently the blood had coagulated post mortem, which meant that the girl must have been alive when they removed her heart. Sam shuddered despite himself. Imagine being alive and fighting as someone cuts into you, feeling them inside you, literally snatching your life away. And that wasn't even the worst part. He couldn't imagine how it would feel to scream for help, for your life, and have no one answer.

It was moments like these when he couldn't be more grateful that he had a brother like the one he had. He couldn't imagine screaming for someone and not have them answer, to have your pleas turned away. When he yelled for help there was always someone there, to help him, to protect him, to save him. He always had someone to back him up. All of a sudden he felt remorse for the girl who had died having no one to save her.

He glanced at Dean, worried that he might have noticed the myriad of emotions that had crossed his face. But it was safe to say Dean hadn't as he was busy silently cursing the street signs and trying to find his way to their destination. Sam took it as safe to give an appreciative, grateful smile towards his brother at that one moment before quickly smothering the smile but holding onto the emotions behind it.

He continued to read on through the file, finding things here or there that they didn't know before. The next time he looked up they were pulling up to 435 Yakima St. Sam and Dean got out of the car and approached the house. When they reached the door they knocked and waited for a reply. Sam mentally readied himself for the emotions they were about to witness while Dean readied himself for the hand cramps awaiting him on the other side of the door. When the door opened a man, looking to be in his late 50s answered the door flanked by a tired looking woman who they assumed was younger but could no longer tell.

They both observed the brothers, waiting for an explanation as to why they were on their doorstep at 10 in the morning. Sam reacted first this time and pulled out his 'id' to flash for their audience. The man glanced at his wife as if wondering if she was up to it, she merely nodded in response and so her husband opened the door and let them inside.

They were directed into the living room where they all sat in silence. Dean started to shift in his seat as comfort quickly fled the vicinity.

_Well…this is….awkward. Now would be a good time to make a move Sammy._

As Dean reached into his jacket pocket to retrieve his pen and paper, Sam dug into his bag. Dean hadn't noticed that he had brought it and was immediately grateful when Sam pulled out his laptop.

_Good thinking bro'. Just saved us from one nasty ass cramp session._

Sam then set computer on the table between the two couches that were currently being used and typed a quick message. He then angled it towards the couple and they leaned closer to read.

"We're sorry to bother you. We just need to ask you a few questions about you daughter and what happened. If that's alright."

The husband glanced at his wife who looked at him and they seemed to come to an understanding. The husband scooted forward in his seat and began to type his response with his wife hanging over his shoulder to input her thoughts when she saw fit. After a few minutes they angled the computer back to Sam and Dean who had been sitting quietly, watching the couple.

"We don't know much about what happened. We talked to the police before and told them everything we could. Angie was a good kid, she was always happy, loved her family and friends. She had a strength to her, like nothing could get her down. When this…whatever it is…came and we all lost our voices she kept on smiling and helped the town place an order for these white boards to help us write back and forth faster without using paper. That night…she had been here…she was just having dinner with us and everything was fine. Nothing seemed out of place…there wasn't any hint or warning at all. She left here around midnight and headed back to her apartment. After that I don't know what happened…she couldn't of called, we couldn't have known anything was wrong. When the police showed up the next day, we didn't understand…they had to SPELL it out for us!! We had to be told that our little girl was dead on a little piece of paper fished out of some guys pocket. They wouldn't tell us much…just that she died of a fatal stab wound to the chest. We didn't know her heart was missing until the next day when that boy was killed and some facts managed to leak out. Who would do that? Who would kill such a kind girl? She was so full of life, love, strength…what monster could have done this? We lost our little girl that night…that's all we know. I'm sorry we couldn't help you any more."

Dean and Sam finished reading and glanced at each other, both feeling a great deal of remorse for what these people had to deal with. Sam's concern stayed where it was in his eyes, but Dean's concern was quickly walled and replaced with a hatred for what had caused this heartache.

Sam reached forward to type his message. While Sam was typing, Dean realized he felt more grief for these people than he normally would. This couple wouldn't even get to hear Sam's soft and sympathetic voice telling them how sorry he was for their loss. Until now Dean hadn't realized how much that calmed the ones who heard it, how much it had calmed and reassured him. He began to miss his brother's voice.

Sam turned the computer back towards the couple opposite him, who were now clinging to each other, Mrs. Jones crying into her husbands chest as he held her. "We are very sorry for you loss. We'll tell you if we find out anything about who did this. We wish you the best and again we're sorry that this had to happen to anyone. We'll get out of your way."

And with that the boys got up, Sam saving the document on his computer, shutting it down and putting it away. They quietly left the house after Mr. Jones had shaken their hands around his wife's sobbing form. They headed back to the Impala and Sam put his bag in the backseat before they both situated themselves in their seats.

_God. Why do these people have to go through this…I mean, to not even be able to talk to your daughter before she died. I wish I could have talked to Jess…_

As soon as that thought came into his head, he pushed it out.

_Come on Sam…you've got more important things to worry about…like this thing taking people's hearts for one…_ He told himself.

He knew that it was about time he started to move on from Jess' death. He knew it wasn't healthy to wallow in pity and consume yourself with 'what ifs'. It was just that every time he would start to get better, something would happen, and someone would bring it up.

The boys drove for about 20 more minutes trying to figure out where the hell Dustin Drive was before they finally found it. Sam brought his laptop in once again and by the time they were done the only thing they had managed to gain was a bunch of cookies, coffee and nothing they didn't already know.

James Smith's wife was handling her loss a little differently than Mr. Jones' wife was. Instead of crying it out, this woman had taken it upon herself to cheer everyone else up. She had scared the crap out of Dean when she pushed him into his seat and brought him back cookies covered in pink frosting. But then she brought out the coffee and got back into his good graces.

Sam had more or less stood back , watching his brother scarf down cookie after cookie and coffee after coffee. He wondered how the woman didn't see right through their false Ids with the way Dean was acting but he figured she just didn't care. When she had seen that Sam wasn't eating anything she had walked up to him and pushed a coffee into his hands along with a small plate of cookies and stood over him until he obediently nibbled on some of the biscuits.

After that interesting introduction they had run through everything about the night before it happened, what her son was like, who he was friends with…the usual. Jake Smith. He was a football player at his high school, twelfth grade, perfect health and golden boy. He, a lot like Angie, loved his family and friends, was filled with an inner strength and was determined to get somewhere in his life.

By the time they had left they'd spent well over two hours with the woman as she ranted on about her son and his past, present and would-be future achievements. They had allowed it considering all the woman had been through but once she had finished and they had said their good byes, they were having a really hard time not flat-out sprinting to the Impala and driving far, far away from her. As soon as they were a safe distance, Sam deleted the opus she had typed on his keyboard.

It was now one in the afternoon which only left about six more hours until curfew. Sam and Dean couldn't believe the curfew had been lowered to a time before it even got dark but considering the body count was going up and the previous curfew hadn't helped, the town officials had installed a new one.

The boys decided to hit the library to see what they could find on what ever it was that was taking these people's hearts. They got lots of hits on different demons, creatures, even some kinds of malevolent spirits that had the power to remove the heart of a still living human and devour it in order to keep them strong enough to stay on earth to haunt and kill.

But nothing that would steal voices on the side. Nothing about why something like that would be here. Nothing about why these things seemed to need hearts that were kind, strong and loving. Nothing about why these things were killing now, at this time. Nothing. Zero. Zilch.

They had to leave the library earlier than curfew in order to go back to the diner from this morning. If they didn't get there before seven…then they weren't eating until tomorrow. So they left the library, both finding an even newer level of frustration in their failure and sped off to the diner. At seven they were in their room, where they were supposed to be although both boys were restless.

_We should still be working…what the hell are we doin' in this god forsaken room? We broke the law to get in here…why can't we break the law to get out there? This is ridiculous Sammy…what are we supposed to do until we get tired?_ Dean thought, only barely remembering that his brother couldn't hear him.

Deciding he had better do something before he takes rock salt to the walls in an attempt to see if that would make them disperse, he went into the bathroom to have a long shower, rather than the short ones he was always taking.

Sam was sitting at the small table in the room, typing away on the keyboard of his most loved possession. He was still trying desperately to come across anything that could help them…but was still coming up empty handed. He wanted to research a lot more but he could already feel himself getting bored, which meant that he would start getting tired soon. Maybe if he went to bed early he could stave off the nightmares, or at least try to get a few hours before they hit him.

Dean's shower ended, Sam's laptop closed, and eventually the lights went out. They had done a whole lot of nothing since they had gotten back to the room and had spent an excruciating four hours like that until they finally gave up and tried to get some sleep.


	6. Silent Pleas?

Chapter 6: Silent Pleas?

He didn't even have time to gasp and check to see if he had woken his brother. Springing from his bed he ran into the bathroom, and dropped to his knees in front of the bathtub. He wouldn't have had time to take the two extra steps to the toilet and then aim over the opening, so the tub was a safer option. Heaving was the only sound heard in the motel room, it was almost deafening in the silence of the town.

The door to bathroom stood open, the bathroom light hadn't been turned on, so Sam sat on the tile floor in complete shadow. The images of his vision flashed through his mind, torturing him and urging him to continue his now dry heaving. When the images finally slowed so that he could at least focus on the pictures in his mind, which still made him sick to his stomach, instead of flashing behind his eyes, disorienting him and feeding the pressure in his brain.

His entire body shook and his muscles ached from the cramps that followed the strain his body had just put on itself. He no longer had to just imagine what it would have been like to scream and be ignored, he had witnessed it first hand and had been the only one to see the fear in the young woman's eyes.

There had been more than just fear and desperation present in her stare. There had been longing, longing for a saviour to rescue her from what she wished was a nightmare. Pain radiated from her, burning into his soul as her eyes had settled on his. She had sent out one last plea to him before her eyes went glassy and slowly dulled, the strength, life and happiness draining from the blue orbs.

Sam dropped so that he was seated on the floor, and pushed himself backwards so that he was leaning against a wall wedged between the tub and the open door. He sat there quietly, lightly clawing at his head, trying to force the images from his mind. He took to rhythmically rocking ever -so-slightly, clutching his head, not making a noise.

Dean began to wake just as the last of the heaves had subsided. He slowly opened his eyes not quite sure as to why he was awake. He couldn't hear anything that would explain why his sleep had been disturbed. Out of habit he glanced at his brother's bed and seeing that Sam wasn't there Dean took his second guess and glanced to where the laptop resided. His brow furrowed in confusion.

_Okay Sammy, not in bed…not on the computer and it's…aww shit…3 in the morning. I guess that leaves the bathroom doesn't it. Can't you ever learn how to hold it?_ He thought to himself as he slowly sat up in bed and swung his legs over the edge. Standing he started to walk to the bathroom, noting as he went that Sam's blankets were half strewn across the floor as if his brother had ripped himself from the sheets.

Dean's pace quickened as he neared the door , seeing it was open but there was no light on inside. He stepped in and felt for the light switch, bracing himself as he found and flicked the switch. He gave himself a few moments for his eyes to adjust before glancing around the bathroom.

_Come one bro. Where are you Sam? I swear to god if you went out…_

His thoughts trailed off as he stepped into the bathroom slightly further and caught sight of the bathtub. Whirling on his heels, Dean swung the door out of the way in order to get a better look at the mess in the tub and his throat suddenly squeezed shut.

He dropped to his knees and reached for the trembling form in front of him. He grasped his baby brother's shoulders and lightly shook him. Sam didn't respond so Dean shook a little harder.

_Come on Sam!! Snap out of it dammit! I can't talk to you and I'm sorry but you gotta come back Sammy!_

Sam finally stopped rocking and stilled. He didn't lift his head and Dean placed his hands to the sides of Sam's head in attempt to lift it to look at him. When Sam's head came up Dean was surprised not to see tears on his brother's face that usually accompanied the rocking Sam had been demonstrating moments ago. Instead Dean was met with a very lonely gaze, one that ripped into his heart.

_I should have been here. Why didn't I hear him earlier? God Sammy, I'm sorry…_

Sam met his eyes and the loneliness slowly receded and was replaced by a haunting look. The younger unwrapped his arms from around his legs and slowly uncurled himself so that Dean could help him off the ground. He was still sore from being sick earlier but overall he didn't feel so bad anymore, which he attributed solely to Dean. As soon as Dean had appeared in his sights, Sam's loneliness had disappeared and he was comforted.

_I'm going to have to tell him what I saw. Jeez, and if that isn't going to be uncomfortable enough I'm going to have to do it on a computer screen._

Both boys were now fully awake. Dean sat his brother at the table where Sam reached out for his laptop and sluggishly dragged it back towards him. While the young man booted up the machine, Dean returned to the bathroom and ran water through the tub to try to clean up. Once he had completed that task he grabbed a towel and drenched it in cool water. He could hear the tapping of computer keys as he wrung out the cloth and exited the bathroom.

He sat next to Sam and placed the cloth on the back of Sam's neck to help cool him down and ease whatever headache he was suffering right now. Sam continued typing, his face changing every now and then and Dean figured it was when some parts became hard to remember or just too horrifying. Sam even stopped a few times, not sure he wanted to keep going but Dean would place a hand on his shoulder and silently urge him to continue.

_I've got to admit…it's easier than actually saying it out loud. I don't know if I could open my mouth again without something coming out, and it wouldn't be an explanation._

Sam finally completed his story and hesitantly pushed it to Dean, who accepted it and turned the screen to him the rest of the way. Sam removed the cloth from the back of his neck and wiped his face down, leaving the cool material on his forehead and closing his eyes. His head had started to calm down earlier but now it felt like the pounding was increasing yet again. He wanted to shut out the light and go back to sleep but was afraid to, as usual. But even more than that he didn't want to watch his brother's face as he read over Sam's report on what he had been forced to watch, to see the disgust and horror, then the concern and lastly, the guilt.

Dean read the document, holding his emotions inside. He couldn't believe his brother had to watch these inhumane acts, and he couldn't understand how his brother always seemed strong enough to recover from the physical and mental torture in time to save these people, or at least to try. As he finished reading he leaned back.

_God Sammy. I'm so sorry! Why does this have to happen to you? I should have been there! I'm so sorry._

Dean's thoughts cried freely but his face held firm. No dam was going to break visibly. He'd stay strong for his brother and reassure him. He didn't want Sam to know just how scared Dean really was about everything. About Sam's powers, the demon, the secret, the fact that their father was gone and never coming back, so many countless other things. And now to top it all off, they couldn't talk to each other and Sam was forced to witness and deal with these visions alone.

While Dean had been reading, Sam had the cloth on his head, the pounding growing in intensity to the point where he lost bearings on his surroundings. At that moment Sam could only think of one thing, wanted one thing. He wanted to hear his brother. He wanted to hear Dean tell him that everything was gonna be okay, that they were going to figure this out. And strangely enough he found himself begging to hear Dean call him Sammy. Just once.

He didn't notice as Dean finished reading and leaned back. Suddenly the pain disappeared from his brain and his head snapped up. He stared at his brother confused and frightened. Dean was looking at him, clearly not knowing why the awestruck expression on his brother's face was there. Clarity reached Sam and he took the laptop from Dean and brought it around to face him so that Dean could not see what it said.

When he was done he passed it back to Dean but didn't turn it. He only stared at his big brother. As Dean took the computer his eyes never left Sam as he turned the screen to face him. He finally took his eyes off of his brother and read the message.

"Don't be sorry Dean."


	7. InDepth

Chapter 7: In-depth

"Don't be sorry Dean."

Dean read and reread the message, he simply stared at the screen. He knew his brother was waiting for a reaction but he wasn't quite sure as to what was happening.

_What the…_

Sam got up and stood beside Dean. As if to clarify exactly what was happening, Sam reached over the elder's shoulder and typed "hell?" Finally Dean's eyes left the computer screen and met his brother's frightened yet excited stare. He let his eyes fall back down to the screen and then locked onto the floor, trying to force his shocked brain to accept the situation. Once he had seen the look in his brother's eyes he knew for sure that Sam had heard him. He looked back up to the younger's face.

_Sammy, can you hear me?_

Sam hesitantly nodded his head. All of a sudden Sam whirled around and started pacing, his hands entwined in his long hair. Dean could tell Sam was having an even harder time accepting this than he was. He knew he had to do something because if he didn't, then Sam would brood himself silly.

Standing up, Dean walked over to Sam and stood in front of his little brother, blocking his path. He grabbed hold of Sam's shoulders so that the younger man lifted his head to look at the face in front of him. That face was filled with concern, strength and determination that comforted him immediately.

_Hey Sam! If you can hear me kiddo, then know that we'll figure this out. I promise ok? Just calm down, everything's gonna be fine._

Sam looked into Dean's eyes and nodded. Then, not able to hold back the relief he felt, he smiled, the dimples he seemed to reserve for his brother making a surprise appearance. He couldn't believe how great it was to hear Dean saying those things. He was starting to believe that he'd never know that tone again, that it would never be there to comfort him. It felt almost as if he had lost Dean when he couldn't actually see him, there would be no proof that his older brother was even there. His heart raced in his chest, not because he was scared anymore, but because he was so relieved that everything he had feared was far from coming true.

Dean on the other hand was a little worried; he couldn't share in the joy of hearing his brother's voice because he still hadn't. He was already weirded out by Sam's freaky visions, but this? Actually infiltrating someone's mind to hear the things they didn't or couldn't say out loud, that was insane and scared the shit out of him.

Before he could stop himself he thought, _I'm not even safe in my own mind anymore. Gonna have to watch what I think now._

Sam's smile slipped and Dean knew he had made a mistake. He loosened his grip on Sam's shoulders as his little brother carefully pulled away from him and turned his back on Dean. The joy he had been experiencing moments earlier ripped from his heart with the thought that had passed from Dean's mind to his. He now was overwhelmed with guilt and couldn't look at his brother, he felt as if Dean was blaming him for this and yet again, he was being a nuisance.

Dean was also guilt ridden. His brother had been so happy and all of a sudden he had that taken from him, and what was worse was that it was his older brother, who was supposed to save him from the world, that stole it. Dean walked forward until he stood in front of Sam, yet again.

_Shit. Sammy, I'm sorry man. I didn't mean that. It's just...this is a lot to take in yah know? I mean first your visions and now this? _He thought. He knew his brother was riding this train along with him and hesitated before he continued it's path. _Man I dunno. I'm freakin out here Sam. But think about this, now we got the upper hand on this thing. You can hear me right? And whatever this thing is, it stole voices for a reason, probably so that the bastard can get at those hearts without being detected. Now at least you'll be able to know when it's happening right? I mean you can hear me so you can probably hear everyone else._

Finally done his mental rant, he watched Sam's face, looking for a reaction to prove his words had sunken in. He recognized relief as it flooded Sam, reassuring him that this was not his choice. He hadn't planned on taking an in-depth look at his brother's mind and at first it had freaked him out. Now though he was just happy that he could hear the voice he had been craving. And under that, was a confidence that this job would get easier now that they could at least communicate with each other…sort of.

_Ok Dean, so I can hear your thoughts. That should mean that I can hear everyone else's, like you said…well…thought. Then why does it still seem way too quiet around here?_

All of a sudden Sam felt really tired. His brain seemed to take on a sluggishness that wasn't usually there and he felt the urge to get off his feet before he ended up on his ass. Quickly striding over to his bed, he sat down heavily and put his head in his hands.

_Hey you ok there kiddo? I know you're freaked about this but like I said, it'll be ok._

When Sam shook his head, Dean started to get worried. He grabbed the laptop and then walked over to Sam, sitting next to him on the bed.

_Alright so tell me what's up with that increasingly freaky head of yours._

Sam lifted his head slightly and dropped his hands. He looked at Dean for a second and then took the laptop, settling it on his knees. He typed quickly, although Dean noticed that Sam kept making mistakes and his fingers were clumsy, they didn't seem to be moving as fast as they should.

Dean read the message when Sam stopped writing it. "I dunno, I'm just really tired all of a sudden. My brain feels really slow and I can't keep my eyes open."

The elder looked back to the younger as Sam rubbed his eyes and yawned.

_Alright Sammy, you just go back to sleep ok? We'll pick this up again in the morning. Our next stop is the library so we're gonna need you sharp to do all the research. We gotta find out about this girl in your vision. _Dean thought and then smiled that cocky, 'know-it-all' grin of his.

Sam just nodded and lay back down, scooting back until his head reached the top of his bed and his legs didn't hang over the edge anymore. While he did that Dean worked the blankets up and around Sam so that he could cover his little brother when he settled down. Sam finally lay still and was asleep the next second. Dean sat on the edge of his bed for a moment with his hand on the younger's shoulder.

_Jesus Sam. You just never catch a break…first the vision and now this? I'm sorry I can't help you, you know I'd trade places with you in a second. But hey, at least you get to hear the voice everyone in the world wants to hear!!_ Dean thought, even though he knew Sam couldn't hear him anymore. He wasn't saying these things to comfort his brother right now anyways, they were all directed at himself.

Dean had his ideas about Sam's sudden fatigue. Asides from the normal lack of sleep, nightmares, visions and their jobs…Dean had an idea that this whole 'reading minds' thing was simply draining Sam's energy. At first the fact that Sam could hear everything he was thinking had scared the crap out of him. Then he started thinking about it, and figured that considering that this was a job, and they needed to be able to communicate, this new ability would actually turnout to be a blessing. And, assuming that Sam could read everyone's thoughts, they would always know the answers to their questions and whether or not someone was lying. It was like having one huge lie detector as your trusty side kick.

But now? Seeing what it was doing to his brother…Dean was scared again. He didn't know how long Sam would be able to listen to people's thoughts without getting so tired that he'd just flat out collapse. Dean needed Sam to be sharp, and if this was going to jeopardize Sam in any way, then these powers were not worth it. Not even close.

Figuring he should probably get more sleep himself, Dean reluctantly stood and before he retreated to his own bed, he leaned down and very lightly kissed his brother's forehead. Sam stirred slightly but quickly settled down again with a content look on his face. Sighing, Dean walked back to his bed and lay down, set the alarm and as he placed his head on the pillow he fell asleep. Only one thought played in his head the entire time he was sleeping.

_Please be ok Sammy._

The alarm went off at 7 in the morning, not especially early but not as late as Dean would have liked. After the disturbance in last night's rest, he was tired and didn't want to move. But as usual it was too late to go back to sleep.

Once again he didn't hear anything from Sam's bed, the bathroom, or the computer so he figured Sam must still be sleeping. It still worried him, just as much as it had done the morning previously, but at least this time he knew where Sam was.

Groaning (or at least he would have) he sat up and looked over at the still, passed out form of his brother. Sam's chest was rising and falling contentedly. He looked peaceful and comfortable, so peaceful that Dean literally could not bring himself to wake him. So he stood, and silently walked to the bathroom. He skipped the shower to keep the noise level down to a minimum, and just got dressed.

He made his way to the door and with a quick re-evaluation of his plan, returned to the table to jot down a note. He didn't want his brother to panic when he woke up and saw that he wasn't there, especially considering everything that had happened earlier that night. With that task done he once again walked to the door and slipped out with one last glance at his brother.

Sam's eyes started to open, despite the fact that he was ordering them to stay closed. He turned over in his bed, noticing that his sheets weren't strewn all over the place as they normally would be after he slept. The next thing noticed was the fact that the sun wasn't shining in his face, but it was out. So he checked the clock, and as he saw the time he bolted up in bed and looked around the room. Dean wasn't in his range of vision so he stood and walked into the bathroom. Not finding Dean in there either, he walked out into the room again. He was just starting to panic when he saw the note on the table. Picking it up he quickly read it and relaxed.

"Just went out for coffee. Be back later. Don't freak."

Sam's shoulders shook from a silent laugh and he set the note back on the table. He then went and lay back down on his bed, knowing that he couldn't do anything until Dean got back with his coffee. It was ten in the morning and he felt really refreshed, even knowing that there was a girl out there that needed to be saved, he couldn't bring himself to do any research quite yet.

_Thanks for the extra hours bro'. Really helped me out…now get your ass back hear with my coffee._

As if on cue Sam started to hear someone talking and knew it was his brother. Sam stood getting ready to take the caffeine off of the older man's hands when Sam noticed just what it was that Dean was thinking.

_Damn, how am I gonna tell Sam? Don't we usually get a heads up or some shit!? What the hell man…_

And then Dean walked through the door, holding the coffees, and a paper. But what caught Sam's attention other than the thoughts, was the look on Dean's face. He looked pissed, and more than that, disappointed. Sam wasn't quite sure what was going on but when Dean saw the look on Sam's face, the confusion and worry, Dean knew Sam had heard him, again.

_Listen Sam, I'm sorry man but…_

With that Dean passed Sam the paper. Sam looked at the paper and then sat back down on his bed, his legs having lost their strength for the moment.

"**Third Heart Stolen"**


	8. Gentlemen

Chapter 8: Gentlemen

Sam shook his head and let his hands drop the paper to the floor. His vision had been bad enough, the images plagued him in his waking mind and flashed in the back of his eyes when he blinked. But to realize that what he had seen was happening at the moment he had been in his vision, that was like being their and just not helping that girl.

He felt like he had betrayed her, and he started the guilt trip. He was trying to hold his tears back when strong hands gently touched his shoulders and Dean's face appeared in front of him. His brother, crouching, had his most reassuring, convincing face on, as he sent out his thoughts to Sam.

_Sammy you couldn't have done anything. It was a vision man, you weren't actually there dude. We'll get the bastards that did this I swear, we won't stop until we do. Swear to god Sam, we'll kill these things. But you can't blame yourself, it's in no way your fault!_

Dean locked Sam's eyes with his own, making sure his message had gone through, and smiled slightly when Sam nodded and his eyes regained some of their light.

_Oki…so I guess we gotta rethink this plan right? I mean now we've got another victim…we've gotta go back to the morgue…oh great…and I had just gotten over my last nightmare!_

Sam smiled at his brother, thankful that Dean was trying to lighten the mood. It was working too, Sam still felt guilty but he knew that there was nothing he could have done. So they spent the next hour formulating a day schedule and getting ready. Then they headed out of the motel, taking the newspaper and laptop with them.

Sam sat in the passenger seat, clicking away at his computer while Dean fiddled with his cassettes until he found Boston and popped it in. The music filled the car and Dean leaned back, tapping the steering wheel to the beat of the music. Luckily there was an internet connection in the town and Sam could access the sites he needed, even if it was painstakingly slow.

He pulled up the article from this morning's paper and ran through it all again., picking out facts he could research on further and ones that they could ask the M.E. about. They were heading towards the city morgue when Sam felt the car pull over, he looked up to find Dean looking out the windshield and up the road.

_Hey Sam, there's the victim's place. We might as well check it out don't you think? Go there then hit the morgue._

Sam really didn't want to go into the house, he already knew what the room would look like and he didn't think his stomach could take it. He also thought that Dean was just stalling so that he wouldn't have to enter that offending pink building. But he nodded his agreement anyways, they'd have to go their sooner or later, why not now?

Dean reached into the glove compartment and took out their fed IDs once again. It was always safer to stick with the same identity when you were in a small town. Tossing Sam his, they both exited the car and walked towards the apartment building, Sam lagging behind a few steps.

They neared the building where police and forensics teams were spotted exiting and entering the complex. Sam knew that he could hear Dean's thoughts but as he strained his ears to pick up anything else, he realized he couldn't. He didn't have access to these people's minds, just his brother's, that didn't make much sense. He frowned and continued to follow his brother as Dean got them through the police tape and into the building with a quick flash of ID.

_Hey little bro'. You pick up anything when those guys were runnin' around?_

Dean glanced back at him for an answer and Sam shook his head. Dean just raised his eyebrows and continued walking.

_So you can only hear me huh? Well aren't I the lucky one._

Sam knew that Dean was kidding but it still stung a little. Dean didn't seem to notice though as they climbed the stairs to the second floor. Sam hesitated on the top of the staircase, knowing the door to his nightmare was just ahead of him. He wasn't exactly jumping at the thought of getting to stand where he had been in his vision, the place where he had stood by and watched this girl be murdered. But he had to.

They entered the apartment where yet more cops and forensics men walked around, snapping pictures, looking through evidence. There didn't seem to be any evidence of a murder, at least not until they entered the girls bedroom. Most of the investigators were in this room and it was most definitely where everything had occurred. There was blood splattered across the walls, ceiling and floor. A large amount of it was soaking and settling into the sheets on the girls bed. Sam already knew everything that had happened and how, so they didn't really have to look around the room very much.

Like he had feared, just standing here made his stomach lurch. Sam patted Dean on the shoulder and left the room, letting his brother know that he would be out in he hall if he needed him.

_Hey you ok? You saw all this happen right…you sure you don't want to go back to the car or something'?_

Dean's thoughts followed Sam into the hallway since they were the loudest things he could hear besides the shutter sounds of cameras. He popped his head back into the doorway and shook it.

_No, I gotta stick this one out. I'll be fine don't worry._ He thought even though Dean couldn't hear him. But the reassuring look on his face must have done the trick.

_Alright, your call. I'm gonna see what I can learn from these people, you go deal with the living room crowd._

Sam nodded again and disappeared from the doorway. Dean turned back to the room he stood in and shuddered, he couldn't help it. He imagined Sam seeing the events that had led up to this mess staring him the face, and it horrified him. He pushed it into the back of his mind and walked to the nearest investigator who didn't seem too busy at the moment, taking out his pen and paper on the way.

He approached and wrote "What did the forensics team find so far?" And handed the pad over to the man who had turned his attention to this new intruder. The man took the paper and waited for Dean to flash his ID, which he did. Then the man began to write in point form, trying to condense everything as much as possible.

"Just like the other two. No sign of forced entry, no finger prints, no trace. Girl found on bed, heart removed. Name was Janice Delong, 24, family lives in town. Blood coagulated post mortem, go check the morgue, her body is their now."

Dean read it and then nodded his thanks and left the room to find Sam.

Meanwhile Sam was in the living room studying his surroundings, looking for anything that a cop would miss. Something that wouldn't stick out to the law but a hunter would recognize as evidence. He studied the door frame and saw that it was completely intact along with the locks, reassuring him that the attackers were let in. He already knew what they looked like, he just needed to see if there was any clue to a weakness that would allow them to get the upper hand on these things.

So far he had been unsuccessful when he heard his brother call out to him. He turned and saw Dean coming towards him with the pad of paper in his hands.

_Oki so this girl was a Janice Delong, 24. Her family lives here and her body is at the morgue right now. Just like the last two victims there was no forced entry, and no proof that anyone was here except for the seriously dead girl. So that leaves us pretty much at square one with another body to check off the short list of people who live here. Man this town ain't gonna have anyone left at this rate._

Sam just listened but knew that they weren't at square one, they had a lead now. Sam knew what these guys looked like and how they operated, more or lessIt would make researching these things a lot easier now and he was starting to feel confident that they'd figure this one out soon.

He grabbed the pad from Dean and wrote his own note before handing it back. "We're not at square one, I know what we're dealing with now, we can figure this out. I just need the computer and the library. How about you drop me off there and head over to the vics families place and the morgue?"

Dean figured this was the best thing they could do at the moment seeing a how he was a useless researcher. He wasn't worried about these things attacking anyone because they seemed only to operate at night. So they agreed and left the apartment, Sam throwing a glance over his shoulder at the destruction before happily stepping into the hall.

They entered the Impala and Sam pulled out a town map he had picked up in the motel lobby. He pointed to their location and the libraries, directing Dean to the proper roads. They took off and were stopping in front of the library within minutes, it really was a very small town. Sam got out of the car and turned back to shut the door before bending over and looking in at Dean.

_Oh right…uh…I'll come back in like an hour or two. Try to figure out anything you can about these things, not to mention where they could be hiding. I'm off to face my worst candy coated nightmare…have fun in the stacks._

His brother took off down the road and turned the corner, driving out of sight. Sam looked at the building before him and climbed the steps, all two of them. Entering, he didn't see one computer in the place, but luckily had his own backup. He wandered to the back and took a seat, got comfortable, and opened the computer. In seconds he was tapping on the keys and blocking out everything that wasn't the computer screen from his mind.

Dean turned the corner and grimaced as the building came into view. Pulling in, he parked in the same place as last time, in front of the doors so that he could keep an eye on his baby. He walked in and saw the receptionist from the day before as she looked up. He smiled at her and she returned a quick grin before her eyes wandered behind him to search out something that was currently sticking it's nose in a book, no doubt.

He silently grumbled to himself and walked towards the desk. The woman sank back in her chair and looked slightly disappointed but averted her attention to Dean. She already knew what he wanted so she waved him into the back of the building to where Evans was.

An hour later (it only took so long because Dean and Evans had to write every freakin word down on his stupid pad of paper) Dean walked from the building, in a much more sour mood then he walked in with. He hadn't found out anything new, and he hadn't gotten any numbers, not even the receptionists, and that was saying a lot considering her occupation.

The Winchester got into his car and started it up, patting the dash as an act of compassion to the car and as some emotional release for himself. The facts he had gotten from Evans ran through his head over and over, taunting him with their insignificance. He only hoped Sam had found something useful, otherwise tonight's nightmare about pink buildings and zombies wouldn't be worth it.


	9. Winchester Rule 7 : Know Your Enemy

Chapter 9: Winchester Rule #7 - Know Your Enemy

Sam had been in searching on his laptop with renewed vigour. He finally knew what these things would look like, their habits, and how they seemed to function. Obviously this going to be much easier now and he wasn't planning on stopping until he found the bastards that caused all of this.

It was twenty minutes into the information onslaught when something caught his eye. He quickly clicked the link entitled "The Smiling Silence" and was taken to a very dark looking page, not that that even crossed his mind seeing as how those were the only pages he had book marked. He began to read the site and immediately knew, not just from the information but also from the sketched illustration, that this was exactly what he'd been looking for.

The first thing he did was book mark the page, then he read further, paying close attention to each word. According to this site these things were called "The Gentlemen", which made a freaky kind of sense, and they had been around since the medieval times. Wherever they went the voices of the town's people would disappear, a spell being placed on the town that would remove the ability to speak.

The voices would be placed inside a box and unless the box was opened and the voices were released, there would be no hope of getting them back. That is until the Gentlemen completed their mission, what they had been brought to do.

_IWait a second…brought to do? So what they're summoned to a place?/I_

Sam kept reading hoping the answer would reveal itself, which it did. Apparently the Gentlemen did have to be summoned to a specific place, and it had to be done by a very powerful being. This left Sam with another problem, who summoned these things? Considering that who ever did it had to be powerful meant that there was another threat, possibly even in town.

Suddenly a thought struck him, one that had been haunting him ever since Max.

_IWhat if it's another psychic? What if they summoned these things…oh god…/I_

He wasn't sure but the thought wouldn't leave his head. He had no proof that it was…except for one thing, and this almost made his thought a solid explanation. His vision. He never just had a vision about someone dying, they were always connected to the other psychics or the demon. Luckily this revelation narrowed down the list of possible summoners : it was either another psychic, or the demon.

Neither of the possibilities gave him any comfort though, if anything they made this all a lot worse. This made it all the more personal and to Sam? It now became his own responsibility, in his mind anyways, to see these things destroyed.

He continued his research for the next half hour before he remembered that Dean would be coming for him soon. He packed up and exited the small building, leaving with a much more informed, yet uncomfortable attitude than he had started out with. He knew what these things were doing and why, he knew they had to be summoned…but he still didn't know how to kill these things. He only hoped that maybe there was something on the website he had missed or hadn't gotten to. He had been so absorbed in his thoughts that he had wasted a good amount of time in his own mind rather than researching.

He waited at the curb for about fifteen minutes, thinking he could have just used that time to continue his search, when the Impala finally pulled up and Sam hopped in. He noticed his brother's dour mood and couldn't help the smile that crossed his face.

_IWhat? What's got you all sunshine and rainbows all of a sudden?/I_

Seeing as how Sam couldn't answer anyways, which was a blessing for him, the younger just shrugged his shoulders with a smug grin that he knew would irk his brother. Dean just shook his head and took off in the direction of the victims house. Sam looked at him questioningly when they weren't heading to the motel.

_II didn't have time to go check the vics place…damn writing takes forever you know! My hand I still killing me! And you got off easy…stupid computer…I got to get me one of those these days. I can't let you be the only one surfin porn sites…wouldn't want you to feel embarrassed Sammy!/I_ Dean thought, a large smile covering hi face when Sam reddened and glared at him from the corners of his eyes.

Sam huffed and rolled his eyes away from his brother to look out the window. They reached their destination pretty quickly and pulled the familiar routine to gain access. With relief, in a sick kind of way, the family of Janice Delong was taking this hit pretty much the same as the first victim's family had. It definitely didn't scare them at least, even if they felt the familiar sorrow and sympathy.

After only twenty minutes they left, again not learning much more from the family, only that their little girl, just like the other victims, had a strong, kind and loving heart. That set one of their theories in stone: the Gentlemen chose good, strong hearted people. The question was why.

Sam hadn't yet filled Dean in on what he had learned because he had wanted to save it until they got to the motel. Finally getting there around two in the afternoon and Sam immediately went to the table and plugged in his laptop, gesturing Dean to come and hover behind him.

This is what Dean had been waiting for and was excited to realize his brother had found something. He enthusiastically set himself in position while Sam pulled up the web page and a blank document to summarize. He started typing, point form, but detailed enough to hive Dean what he needed.

"Called The Gentlemen, there's 7 of them. They remove the hearts of people who are, as we already figured out, strong and caring. They keep them in separate ritual boxes and when they have collected seven hearts, they devour them. I'm not sure why…I couldn't find that part yet but I'm not done looking through this site. But get this, they need to be summoned to a place, they can't just spring up anywhere. And the person who summons them has to be powerful, like a witch or demon or…psychic."

Dean glanced at Sam when he typed the last word and as he guessed Sam was worrying. The older knew what was going on and knew he had to assure his brother that this had nothing to do with his abilities.

_ISam, we don't know if a psychic is even involved. And so what if they are? That doesn't mean anything! That doesn't mean you're gonna go dark side or anything Sammy! Trust me man, I know you. We've had this conversation before and I ain't changing' my side./I_

Sam looked reassured by his brother's "words" so he continued.

"I don't know who's summoning them…but I'm pretty sure it's either a psychic or THE demon. My vision…there's always a connection right?"

Dean hated to admit it, but he knew Sam was right. His younger brother's vision had proved that it had something to do with the demon and it gave Dean the urge to pack up and run. But he knew he couldn't, he couldn't abandon these people, and he knew that Sam couldn't, and wouldn't, either.

So unfortunately that left them with one option: stay and fight these things. Both boys knew that if the demon was involved, things were going to be much more complicated but they could only hope that Sam's visions weren't connecting to the demon and rather the psychic, if one was involved.

But it appeared as though Sam wasn't quite finished writing out his report. "Only two reports of them throughout history that I found. Once in 1752 in England, where seven people died from major heart failure and soon after that the entire town was wiped off the map. Totally obliterated and no one was ever found from there again. The only reason people know about it is because a villager had a relative who had been travelling at the time. The second record was in 1891 in Russia, where basically the same thing happened. Seven deaths, town destroyed just after that. Whatever these things are, this is just the beginning. They're building up to something and if we don't stop it then everyone in Vale will be dead, including us."

_IWell that just sucks out loud. Kinda makes this whole thing personal doesn't it Sam. Well I guess the first thing we gotta do is find out how to kill the fugly sons of bitches. Got anything on that? Maybe a weapon or exorcism or somethin' like that?/I_

"No, nothing on the website that I could find yet. I'll keep looking and hopefully this place will have it and if not…then I guess I gotta branch out a bit. It shouldn't take me too long, but we gotta do something about tonight…those things have been attacking non-stop and that's means that it's someone else's turn tonight."

_IYah you're right…well try to find something that will take of these things…and I you can't find anything then…we'll wing it. But tonight we should go patrol the streets you know? So that if we spot these things we can at least warn people about them when they come a-knockin./I_

"Alright. So when do you wanna leave?"

_II figure we should leave once it gets dark…it's like 3 now so that should give you a few hours. While you do that…I'm gonna take a nap. SOMEONE keeps disturbing my beauty sleep and I need to look sharp for the ladies, so if you'll excuse me./I_ Dean thought with a cocky grin on his face as he flopped down on the bed and buried his face in his pillow. There really wasn't any point in taking off his shoes or anything so he left them on as he dozed off. He left Sam in the waking world to stare incredulously at the older and roll his eyes, then averting his gaze back to the computer screen.

Sam had been feeling more and more drained all day and he knew why. Dean's thoughts, clashing with his own, were taking a lot out o him. Having a head like Sam's with all the thoughts and strategies and concerns and emotions running through it is tiring enough. Then you add someone else who is much the same way, and you get one very tired brain.

It was a relief when Dean fell asleep, leaving his thoughts and emotions behind him. He didn't know it, but by sleeping, he was in fact giving Sam a break too. Now only Sam's thoughts plagued his mind, as dark and disturbing as those were lately, and he was starting to feel the fatigue leave him. With renewed energy h began to frantically type and read, being on a time limit tends to make people move faster.

It was eight by the time the sun started to go down, and Dean was still passed out on the bed, mouth wide open, one arm hanging over the side of the bed while the other was tucked under his pillow as usual. Sam was still sitting at the computer, but with a rather triumphant look on his face as he typed up and prepared the document he was going to show his brother, all the facts he found so far including the new stuff he had gotten.

He got up and moved to Dean's bed, noticing the setting sun on his way over, they were gonna have to keep this short. He put a hand on Dean's shoulder and shook gently to wake him up, next thing he knew his arm was being held in a death grip and there was a knife near his jugular. He stopped breathing momentarily, waiting for Dean's brain to actually kick in and save him from his sleepy brother.

Dean blinked and quickly let go with a rather embarrassed look on his face. He tucked the knife away under the pillow and turned to face Sam again.

_ISorry little brother but you should know better to creep up on a guy when he's sleeping. Especially one as deadly and as skilled as me./I _Dean smiled as he thought, a devilish grin spreading across his face.

Sam shook off the initial shock and once again found himself rolling his eyes at his brother. It's not like that hadn't happened before, the difference was that this time Sam wasn't able to tell Dean that it was him. That could have actually ended in one hell of an accident, but Sam wasn't about to show Dean how much that had shaken him. Shrugging it off he motioned for Dean to follow him over to the table and take a seat. When they were both settled, Sam handed the computer over to Dean and sat back to wait for his brother to read all the details he had listed.

He was stewing in a feeling of pride and accomplishment, and yet also anxiety and confusion. He had found what was needed to kill these bastards, but actually getting what they needed to do it was a completely different story. He had also found out why these things killed and devoured the hearts of their prey, and that little tidbit was the part causing him the most anxiety and fear.

_IOk so that's great, now we know everything we need…now how o we get it? I mean it's not like you can just pick up a human voice anywhere../I _Dean abruptly stopped when that thought ran through his head, absorbing the absurdity of that statement before continuing. I_We're kinda lacking in the human scream department and as much as I wanna see these things heads blow up? I don't see how we're going to get our voices back./I_

He looked at Sam expectantly, hoping for an answer that he knew probably wasn't going to come. Surprisingly though, Sam had one for him. He pointed out a certain fact that Dean seemed to have missed on his tirade of doubt.

"The Gentlemen use an ancient box, a relic, to contain the voices of the people under the spell. Open the box, release the voices."

_IAwesome…how do we find the box?/I_

Sam grabbed the computer and typed rapidly, they were losing daylight at a rapid pace and needed to get out on the road soon.

"They keep it in their hideout. They have a kind of meeting place where they sleep during the day. Most likely an abandoned building."

_IGreat so we need to make nother trip to the library for a list of abandoned buildings? Well it looks like another job for trusty geek-boy sidekick. But we gotta get goin, sun's goin down and we need to get our asses out their./I_

_IThis is gonna be a long night/I_


	10. Failure to Launch

Chapter 10: Failure To Launch

They left the motel room after printing out two copies of the document Sam had compiled. They weren't going completely unprepared either, they may not have had their voices but they still had their guns, knives, holy water, salt, and anything else they could possibly think of that might work. The last item they had grabbed was John's journal, the only thing they felt they had left of their father. Neither would admit it but sometimes it felt wrong to go through their father's thoughts knowing everything that had happened.

Unfortunately they didn't have much of a choice, most of what they needed came from that scrap of a book and so they had to keep it with them at all times, no matter how much it may sting.

They decided the best thing to do would be to stick near the residential areas, away from the stores and main roads. The Gentlemen would be far too easily spotted even with the curfew in effect, anyone looking out their windows would see them. So by keeping to the smaller streets they were hiding themselves in a way, and also making the boys' job easier in the discretion department.

Before they had left their room, they had come up with a complete plan for the night. First off they were going to split up, normally they wouldn't except that Dean came up with a way for them to communicate through their phones. They would send Morse code back and forth to each other by pressing different buttons for different periods of time.

After they had worked that out, they figured that they'd each start at different ends of the town and meet somewhere in the middle if neither got interrupted. If one of them did find these things, they would call the other and wait for their sibling to show up before trying any 'heroics' as Sam had worded it. Dean reluctantly agreed to everything they had planned and so when they set out they felt confident things were going to go well. As Sam and Dean split up, both on foot to make the search more thorough, Dean turned towards his brother briefly.

_IHey Sam?/I _Sam turned to look at him. I_Be careful./I_

Sam half smiled appreciatively and nodded his head, then turned his back on his brother and walked in the direction of his starting line. Both boys trekked silently, wary of every one of their surroundings, just waiting for the time when they would have to pounce into action.

About an hour into slowly skulking around houses, parks and sidewalks, Dean still hadn't found anything. Truth be told he didn't think that he would, but he couldn't stop just because of that, the hunter in him told him this was his responsibility. To keep people safe from harm. Even if he thought harm had eluded him, he still had to try.

Sam wasn't fairing much better, his feet were getting sore and his head hurt, but so far nothing out of the ordinary. He huddled his jacket closer to him as a breeze picked up, his hands were starting to tingle from the chill so he stuffed them in his pockets. Seconds later he quickly withdrew them as his head ache spiked, sending pain shooting from the back of his brain to his eyes in milliseconds.

He grabbed hold of a nearby tree and dug his back into it to try to gain control of his balance, it didn't help though. He soon found himself kneeling in a puddle, freezing water all over his jeans and soaking into his shoes. All of these details went unnoticed as he dug his hands into his head in an attempt to bore the images out.

The pain he felt in his visions was bad, but this? This was something new. He felt tears sting his eyes, he felt his body begin to shake, and he felt his head exploding from the trauma. Or at least he wished it would already, and just as he was about to let the dark take him, the movie started.

IHe stood on the sidewalk, a sign next to him declared he stood on Bryant St. Sam immediately knew this couldn't be good, this obviously meant someone was going to die here./I

_bWhen this is over I gotta call Dean and let him know…I just hope we have time to stop these things./b_

Sam was standing on the corner of an intersection when he spotted them. They were barely visible in the shadows of the trees, but there they walked, or glided in this case. Sam stood in silent horror as once again he was brought face to face with his enemy and once again could do nothing but watch their next moves.

Sam had seen them before, but their grotesque smiles and white skin still unnerved him. Each one was different, much like a person, with different features, heights and weights. The tallest of them was positioned in the front of the pack, and Sam could tell from this distance that the thing would tower over him. They wore pressed black suits, white shirts underneath and ties around their bony necks, shining dress shoes completed the look of professionalism. If it weren't for the appearance of death in their skin, the way it was drawn over their bones, lacking texture and humanity, one would suspect them to be a group of lawyers.

In his last vision the tallest, who was clearly the leader, had not been present and now that he was, Sam could see that he was carrying a bag in his left hand. There was also a certain amount of order that had been lacking in the last encounter, these things seemed to be more controlled and precise in their every move with the leader present.

They approached a house, about three houses from where Sam now stood, not wanting to follow but knowing he would have to. He would be forced to be a witness of their brutality and evil, he would have to watch as another person lost their life to these monsters. As they entered the building, the front door seemingly to open of it's own accord, Sam saw movement in the direction the Gentlemen had come in.

He squinted his eyes and took a few tentative steps forward to try to make out the new player. He stopped in his tracks when he realized who it was, now he only had to hope that back in reality he would wait for Sam to help him. But in Sam's current world, Dean slunk through the shadows and dashed up to the house to catch the door while it still stood open. He pushed the door open slightly to allow himself room to move but not enough to cause any unwanted noise. Sam's feet were planted as he watched Dean disappear into the house. He didn't want to go in, he didn't want to see any of this. The dread he felt at this moment overwhelmed him and closed off all of his senses except for his sight, the one thing Sam would have loved to give up right now.

Suddenly there was a flash and he found himself standing in a bedroom. The house was dark and the only light came from the moon, the only thing that allowed him to see the two figures sleeping in the bed in front of him.

b_These things must be running out of time or something…please let me save them. Oh god./b_

He prayed for some kind of head start, to snap out of his vision in order to gain more time to help these people, he didn't know if he could handle two more deaths. It was always much more personal when he saw what happened to the victims in his visions, he always felt more responsible.

The door behind him creaked as it opened, two suited men glided inside, their feet not making a sound as they hovered inches off the ground. They positioned themselves on either side of the bed, while Sam backed into a corner in an attempt to distance himself from what was coming. Three more monsters entered, Sam guessed the other two were guarding the door. The three new arrivals also took their positions, two at the foot of the bed and the leader beside the man sound asleep next to his wife.

Everything stilled, not in slow motion, everything just stopped as if in anticipation of what was to come. Curiosity, being one of Sam's strong traits, pushed his feet closer to the spectacle, so that he was standing just wide of the group that now encased the bed.

Sam then noticed that the sleeping man was beginning to stir, that feeling of something invading, waking his mind. As his eyes opened he blinked a few times before his eyes tripled in size and he started to flail. As he did the men beside the bed grabbed flying limbs, their arms darting with precision to gain hold on their targets. As each ankle and wrist was grabbed, blood was drawn, the knife like fingers digging in to flesh just enough to ensure capture.

His senses were beginning to return and Sam could hear the frantic, laboured breathing included in a panic attack. The man's limbs were pulled taught and held against the mattress, his wife still sleeping beside him. The tallest Gentleman placed his bag on the night stand and flicked on the lamp beside it, sending a soft, serene glow through out the room. Sam was beginning to hope that maybe the woman would be spared, that she would stay asleep and not witness what was about to happen.

But his hopes were dashed as she rolled over and opened her eyes, immediately having the same reaction as her spouse. She, also like her husband, was quickly restrained and held down to await the next move of their captors.

The tallest then fixed his entire attention on the man laying in front of him who was staring at the face of death with terrified eyes, his breaths coming in short gasps. The Gentleman looked at his prey for a moment before turning to the night stand and opening his bag.

He reached inside and pulled out something that glinted in the moon light. Clamps. He brought them up to his face as if to admire them, but he was only adding to the terror of the man cowering before him. Placing the clamps on the nightstand he pulled out the next item. Scalpel, who would have guessed. Sam's imagination was already running away with him as his thoughts started to form the gruesome reality.

_bWhat the hell is this? Come on, when is this thing gonna be over! I need to help these people!/b_

The scalpel joined the clamps, and one last time the monster immersed his hand in the leather bag and pulled out the final item, completing the collection of greatly misused equipment. The syringe stayed in the long, dead fingers and Sam winced in preparation for the untimely demise of this poor victim.

Just when Sam was about to close his eyes, not wanting to watch this man rendered unconscious for the last time in his life, the Gentleman turned from the bed and seemed to stare right at Sam. Sam met his eyes and couldn't help the shudder that flowed through his body when the demonic grin didn't falter, never had.

Then Sam realized it was looking through him, past him. And then he heard the door creak, opening wider, admitting first one creature, then another, then…DEAN. In between the two things, Dean was struggling wildly, trying to free himself. But not to escape, Sam knew his only thoughts were of the two people about to fall victim to these bastards.

Sam watched in horror as his brother was dragged forward, a look of sheer fury and determination on his face. Blood dripped onto the floor from the wounds inflicted on his arms due to his struggling. His eyes were set on the creep in front of him and the people restrained behind it.

He managed to get an arm free and viciously punched one of his captors square in the head. Nothing happened, the thing just stood there with a smile plastered on it's face. Then, with lightning quickness, it grabbed Dean's shoulder and pulled while the second captor did the same. The result was a resounding pop as his bone left it's socket. Dean's mouth opened in silent agony and then quickly clamped closed, both out of habit and determination.

Now with one arm hanging uselessly and the other in the hands of a Gentleman, Dean could only struggle so much and he knew there was no way he would escape. Sam was still rooted to his spot, the pop reverberating in his ears, taunting him. He was helpless, it was bad enough to watch these people die, but if Dean was killed then they might as well take Sam with him.

Finally he snapped back into his brain and dashed towards his brother, full protective mode kicking in. He leapt at the captor holding Dean's good arm and was going to grab him, but he fell right through the figure. His head struck the wall behind it and he lay momentarily stunned, blinded finally, to his relief.

When he looked back, the leader had walked forward and was now holding Dean's bad arm in one bony hand while he inserted the syringe with the other. Rather quickly Dean's struggles stopped and his knees hit the floor, soon followed by his torso and his head.

_bNo! Dean! Wake up please!/b_

Sam could only sit as his brother's dead weight was lifted between his original captors and removed from the room, followed by the two Gentlemen who had been at the end of the bed.

b_God Dean. I promise I'm going to stop this! I won't let these bastards have you!_/b

The tallest then returned to where he had been before, next to the nightstand, and picked up the scalpel. He then, very carefully, leaned towards the man lying on the bed who was stuck in some sort of horrified trance.

The Gentleman sliced down the front of the man's shirt, opening it to reveal a chest rapidly rising and falling as the breaths were sucked in and out of his lungs. It was then that the man decided to become lucid and began to squirm frantically. Once again his efforts were futile as the only result were deeper cuts into his arms, but his legs flung wildly, freed from their captors.

The two holding his arms simply ignored the legs flying in front of them and focused their gaze to their leader, waiting for the bloodbath to begin. The leader didn't seem to notice the appendages either as he lightly placed the edge of the scalpel in between the mans clavicles, ready to draw a nice, long line down to the man's navel.

The man under the blade had stopped struggling as soon as it had touched him, afraid he might cut himself. He didn't even dare to breath as the blade was pushed against his skin, slipping through it ever so slightly, causing the man to wince.

The Gentleman then pressed down harder and seemed to revel in the blood that had collected in the area. The husband started to squirm and his mouth opened in a silent scream, his eyes clamped shut against the nightmare of his pain.

The man's wife lay quietly, in shock, held by the third party member left for the kill. She simply stared, unable to process what was happening to the man she had committed her life to, the man she had promised to love and cherish 'til death do them part.

Slowly the blade moved down the man's chest, inch by inch, professionally guided by the sadistic 'doctor' in control. The blood now came faster, pooling then gliding down the mans sides in streams that were quickly turning into rivers, soaking the sheets and blankets around him.

His mouth remained open, his screams remained unheard, his pleas remained unanswered, and Sam remained in his nightmare. Still sitting on the floor against the wall, he had unknowingly grabbed his head and was rocking softly back and forth. He also didn't seem to realize that he was mouthing something, and if you could have heard him, it would have sounded something like this.

"Please, oh god, please stop. Dean please help me, oh god I can't…please! Dean!"

But, like the man dying in front of him, unaided, his pleas went unheard. He was stuck here, how long it had been in the real world he wasn't sure, but it seemed like an eternity for him. As much as he wished he wasn't, he was still watching the events before him, unable to miss a single moment of it. The man had now completely stopped struggling and lay, eyes wide, slowly blinking every now and then. His chest would rise, hitch, fall, rise, hitch, fall. Each breath causing fresh blood to spill, pooling in the mattress, soaking both bodies tangled in the sheets.

The Gentleman placed the scalpel on the night stand once more, looking at it reverently, it's tip stained with the rich crimson. Then he picked up the clamps and manoeuvred them over the man's torso, pushing until each side was settled snugly into the incision. Then with a slow and calculated move, the man's organs met the light, a sucking noise accompanying their introduction.

The husbands eyes grew wider and his mouth relaxed ever so slightly. His breathing beginning to fail, but his heart still beating. His killer reached out to him, almost lovingly, placing a hand on his chest. No, placing a hand in his chest, squeezing, ripping, pulling. And just like that, this man's life was in the hands of a monster, weakly beating into oblivion.

A box was produced from the leather bag and the heart was placed inside. Everything was quickly cleaned, the bastards' hands showing no trace of the brutal murder that had just been committed. The surgical implements revealing nothing of their misuse, of their deadly deeds. Picking up the bag carefully he turned towards the Gentleman that remained with the corpses wife, smiling sweetly and nodding at a job well done.

Sam had stopped rocking and now sat, a blank expression on his face, but an almost hopeful look in his eyes. Hope, hope that maybe she would be spared, maybe the target was only her husband. Hope, quickly extinguished as the monster raised his hand and plunged it into the woman's chest, snapping and ripping the only things heard in the silence of the night.

Astonishingly, and disturbingly, this snapped the woman out of her trance and she began to fight it. Her unrestrained arm scratching and punching at the white face above her. Her body only went limp when the hand was yanked out of her broken chest cavity, her life along with it.

The Gentleman simply left her, limbs tangled in the sheets, blood pouring from her broken body. Her eyes remained open, much like her husbands. Both now having large holes in their fronts, one professionally crafted, the other brutally forced. The blankets and sheets had once been the cool tan of sand, and was now a muddy brown, glistening in the lamp light./i

Sam couldn't move, shock had settled in and he didn't feel like doing anything but sit and detach himself. But things were not over, in fact they had just begun as hot, white flashes danced throughout the scene in front of him, burning the images into his brain. His mind flinching at the searing heat, the pain and realization of the vision began to return to him. Finally he was going to get his chance to save these people. But more importantly, to save Dean.

Sam found himself on his side, legs curled up to his chest in a bush, hidden from view. His hands were entwined in his hair so tightly that he was sure he was pulling chunks out. Slowly his body began to relax, exhaustion hitting his muscles while intense pain beat down on his brain. His senses refused to coordinate, leaving him confused, he couldn't tell if he was wet or just cold, he felt wet but then the next minute it would feel different. His nose was still lingering on the vision as a copper smell drowned him.

He lay, panting heavily, on the verge of hyperventilating for god knows how long. The pain in his mind would not let up, no matter how long he lay there, it didn't improve. This vision was longer than any he had ever had and the toll it had taken on his body had rendered it useless. He couldn't move, he couldn't think and he could barely breath.

Knowing what he had to do and that if he stayed here any number of bad things could happen , he forced his breathing to even out. It finally slowed to a manageable pace after a while longer and by that time he was able to clumsily position his arms beneath him.

His knees were lowered from his chest and he twisted onto his stomach, bringing his knees back up to help his weak arms raise him out of, what he now knew to be, a freezing puddle of water. He was completely soaked, shivering and his teeth chattered but not just from the cold. His brain was still being assaulted but he couldn't let that stop him.

Finally he got to his feet, leaning against the tree that had failed him before. As he leaned his head back, resting it on the trunk of the maple, the images flashed through his mind once more. As he saw Dean being pulled from the room, as he heard the pop repeat over and over in his pained mind, adrenaline began to flow.

With a lot more strength than he had moments ago he took off, full speed in the direction of Bryant St., knowing, from studying a map to plan their route, exactly where he had to go and how long it would take him to get there. Now he just had to outrun seven sadistic creatures and one reckless hunter.

Dean continued searching, although his feet were yelling at him to stop being so goddamn stubborn and give up. He never was one to quit something he started, except chick flick moments that he seemed pretty good at walking into. But asides from that, Dean Winchester never quit, he was stubborn and that's how he liked it.

He had been searching for a good two hours now, wondering how his brother was doing. He hadn't heard from him so he assumed Sam hadn't found anything. He was starting to get worried that they might miss the Gentlemen or already had, but once again it wasn't going to stop him from looking.

He was just turning the corner onto a brand new street when he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. He immediately crouched down into a position that hid him from view behind a bush. Black forms, seven of them, were gliding through the trees, making their way through the park to the other side of the street. A row of houses lay there with a street sign on the corner, Bryant St. Now he knew he would have to call Sam, Dean had agreed to wait for his brother if the found anything.

Pulling out his phone he dialled Sam's number. He pushed the phone against his ear so he could tell when the call was picked up. Suddenly he was greeted with Sam's voice and he jumped. "Sorry I can't get to the phone right now. Try again later."

_IVoicemail…well that's weird/I_

He pulled the phone from his ear, looking at it, trying to come up with an explanation for why his call went unanswered. He dialled again twice and twice it went to voicemail. Finally he gave up, figuring that Sam had left the phone on vibrate or silent and didn't know it was ringing.

He began to advance into the trees, following his targets so that he wouldn't lose sight of them. He saw them move across the street onto the sidewalk, float down a house or two and then turn up the path of one two story home.

_ISorry Sammy, but I can't wait around if people are gonna die! Better luck next time bro./I_

Dean dashed forward and caught the door that had swung open by itself, to allow the intruders in, before it could close again. He opened the door wider, cautious of a squeak from the hinges and upon not receiving any, slipped through the opening he had made.

The door closed behind him with a click, he didn't care about it though and just hoped the Gentlemen hadn't noticed that the click had taken a little longer to sound than usual. He walked forward, hugging the walls to keep himself in a position of control, gaining a full view on his surroundings.

He stood in a hallway, stairs resting across from the door, creating a foyer effect as there were walls on every side of him. Openings in the walls revealed the living room and a bathroom just down the hall from his current position.

None of that mattered, there wasn't a bedroom on this floor which would mean that the murders were going to take place upstairs. He cautiously walked towards the stairs, his gun having been removed from his waistband and now lying in his hand.

He put his foot on the first step, no creak. He put his foot on the next step, no creak. Dean decided these stairs were pretty much noiseless so he quickened his pace up the flight of stairs, slowing as he reached the landing. He glanced around him, gun at the ready, itching for a chance to get a round off. He saw three doors on the second floor. He figured one was a bathroom, one was an office or spare room and the last was a bedroom. He inched towards the bedroom door, noting that it lay partially open.

Just before he reached his target, a door next to him opened and a shadow passed over his form. He whirled around bringing the gun up to aim at whatever was about to attack. He didn't have time to fire however when a white hand appeared from the shadows of the room and grabbed his gun, yanking it from his grasp. Another hand lashed out and grabbed his wrist, biting into the flesh there.

Dean hardly noticed and instead used the thing's hold on him to support himself as he leaned back and aimed a kick at the thing that had him. His kick met it's mark but didn't seem to do anything to his enemy as, instead of stumbling backwards, the thing in the black suit glided forwards. Dean backed up with it to try to keep space between himself and evil.

He began to throw punches and kicks all over the place, trying to worm his hand out of the grasp the Gentleman had on it. Unfortunately for him, one more monster was available to join the fight playing out in the hall. It came forward, just opposite from where Dean now stood, sandwiching him between the suits.

Dean knew it was now or never, free himself from this creature and get away from the second otherwise he was going to be outnumbered and overpowered. He tried, he tried as hard as he could, but he couldn't free himself. No matter how hard he hit, how hard he pulled or pushed, nothing seemed to faze these things.

He even pulled out on of his knives and tried to stab the thing in front of him but the blade wouldn't enter the flesh. It just sat harmlessly on the surface of the white skin, not even leaving any evidence that it was there.

When his other arm was grabbed and he began to be pulled in the direction of the third door present, he didn't stop struggling. He continued, causing more and more cuts in his skin, blood dripping onto the floor. The door in front of him swung open slightly and he was dragged through the doorway, entering the dimly lit bedroom.

The scene in front of him caused him to stop struggling, momentarily in shock. Then he began again, with more fervour than ever and rage took over, he couldn't let these sons of bitches kill anyone else! Let alone a couple in their bed. He stared at the tallest monster, standing between him and the bed with an item in it's hand.

His eyes burned with hatred, his features twisted in a snarl as he continued to tug and pull. He finally felt something give and his arm came loose. Before he even registered what he was doing, his fist struck a face, his knuckles clacking against yellow teeth. He stopped waiting for a reaction, just looking at the thing in front of him.

Then it grabbed his shoulder and he felt tugging on both sides of his body. Suddenly pain shot through his arm and ran into his shoulder, flooding his right side. He began to yell out, but wouldn't let these things have the satisfaction of another useless scream so he clamped his jaw shut.

He couldn't move his right arm, and he couldn't pull his left arm loose, but he kept trying. When the tallest Gentleman stepped towards him, he didn't even flinch. He didn't take any notice of it until it grabbed his limp arm and pulled it forward, directly into the path of the syringe lying in the deadly fingers.

He felt the drug burn through his veins, leaving a tingling feeling behind as he lost control of his body. He barely felt his form hit the floor with a soft thud as his world faded out.

_II'm so sorry Sammy…oh god…I'm sorry……/I_

Sam had been running for five minutes, his lungs were heaving and his legs were burning, but he couldn't stop. He couldn't allow those things the next two victims and he couldn't let them have Dean. He only had a few more blocks to go.

All of a sudden he remembered something. He felt like slapping himself, and if it weren't for the fact that he was busy running, he would have. He slipped his phone out of his pocket, his pace never slowing, his legs still carrying him at an astonishing speed towards Bryant St. He turned the screen towards him and his stomach dropped. 3 Missed Calls.

_IOh god…he found them…Dean…oh god!/I_

He ran even faster, if that was possible. His brother had already found the things, he had been following them for a while now because the last missed call was from ten minutes ago while Sam's vision had been in control. He had even less time to reach his brother before those things accomplished their mission.

He saw the sign rush past him, indicating his arrival and counted as the houses rushed by. One. Two. Three. And as he reached the fourth, he ran up the drive way. He leapt the four steps to the door and simply rammed into it, grabbing the knob and forcing the entrance open. It crashed into the wall as it swung open and Sam lunged forward, taking the stairs three at a time.

He reached the landing and screeched to a halt, and as he did his foot slipped on something, leaving a smear behind his heal. Blood.

_Oh God! DEAN where are you!?_

He reached the bedroom door in a split second and flung it open. Sam was rooted to the spot, his feet wouldn't move, and his knees lost the ability to hold his weight. He slumped to the floor, his cold pants tightening over his legs. The failed hunter stared in utter disbelief at the room in front of him, a terrified expression forming on his face.

Suddenly Sam lurched forward and heaved, for the second time he heaved until nothing was left. Despite that fact, the dry heaving continued, Sam's body shaking with the effort and strain. After a while his heaves broke into sobs and he couldn't stop the tears. He pushed himself into a corner and lay on the floor, shivering from head to toe, his shoulders shaking as the sobs continued.

The bodies lay on the bed, the colour still in their skin. The moon was still full, light shining through the window. The lamp on the bedside table still on, the serene glow glittering on the wet blood splattered across the ceiling and walls, dripping from the curtains on the window and the sheets of the bed.

Sam had failed.

And Dean was gone.


	11. Half A Mind

Chapter 11: Half a Mind

He wasn't sure how long he must have laid there for. It felt like it had been an eternity, and each moment was still slowly ticking by. The clock on the wall above him was clicking, slowly driving him crazy as it reminded him that every second he lay there, that was one more second that he was alone.

He wanted to move, he really did. Lying on his side for this amount of time was beginning to take it's toll on his ribs, each breath was agonizing, for more reasons than one. The problem was, he couldn't bring himself to do it. It was as if he was trapped inside his body, feeling the physical and mental anguish, the emotions overwhelming him. But his muscles wouldn't respond.

He blamed his immobility on the vision. He had figured out that it had lasted about an hour and that kind of stress on your brain and body had caught up with him. Also running as fast as he did just after that must not have helped much.

_Not fast enough…never fast enough…oh god…Dean._

His thoughts wouldn't leave him alone, but he was alone. His mother was gone, his father was gone, his Jess was gone…and now Dean.

_No…he's not gone…he can't be…please god!_

Truth be told, he didn't want to go on. He didn't want to live anymore, there was too much pain and failure. To many things had been stolen from him, and his brother…he had taken so much form his brother. And now because of him, Dean was somewhere with those monsters and who knows what's happening to him.

The sun started to come up, sending a warmth throughout the dead room, touching his skin. He shrank away from it, he didn't deserve to feel the sun. He didn't deserve the air in his lungs, it should be in the lungs of the people who had owned this house, and he felt as if he was robbing them of it.

He lost track of everything again as his vision blacked out but he remained awake. He finally was blinded.

_It's too little too late._

He had used those words before, but somehow he felt even more hollow now than he had been the first time he said them. Losing John was one thing, he was his father and he loved him to death and beyond, but he knew he could go on without his father, he still had something left and his father had left him two jobs. Kill the demon. And stay with Dean.

_I'm so sorry Dad…oh god I failed! Please forgive me…DEAN!_

He could hear everything, the ticking clock, the singing birds, the rustle of the wind outside and suddenly…footsteps. Lots of them. Downstairs…on the stairs…on the landing. A wet squeak was heard…the blood.

_Oh god…Dean's blood…please…it's a nightmare…I'm still in my vision. Wake up Sam!_

The footsteps reached the open door and suddenly they stopped, there was some yelling but Sam couldn't understand anything they were saying. The only thing he knew was that someone else was there, an intruder. His instincts told him to fight, but his body would still not listen.

A man in a uniform walked into the room, followed by three more and they ran over to the bed, hoping that maybe these people were still alive. Of course they weren't, and the officers quickly realized that as they saw the gaping holes in their chests. One officer turned away from the bed, unable to stomach the sight. That's when he saw the large form huddled in the corner of the room, behind the door.

He pulled his gun and slowly approached the man lying on his side, facing the bed. Maybe they had finally found the culprit of the murders, maybe these brutal killings would now come to an end. But as he approached he quickly realized this man was not guilty of the murders.

The man was staring into space, not even blinking. He was shivering from head to toe and there were tear stains all over his cheeks. As he got even closer he noticed the young man's skin was a greyish colour and he looked completely exhausted.

Kneeling down in front of the man, he gently touched his shoulder but got no reaction. He turned to the other officers who had also drawn their guns. He nodded to them, reassuring this man was harmless, but then motioned that they'd need an ambulance.

Sam could hear the footsteps, he noticed the shadow over him, but he refused to acknowledge it. He didn't want help, he didn't deserve help. After a while he felt himself being rolled over and lifted, he was carried out of the house and set on a stretcher. As his body hit the stretcher he realized what he was doing.

_NO! I have to find Dean! Run, come on!_

Surprisingly his muscles decided to obey him and the next thing he knew, he was running down the street, cops chasing after him. Luckily his height advantage allowed him to lose them after only a few minutes and he ran the way back to the motel. He opened the door and entered, closing the door behind him and leaning against it.

He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again he made sure to divert them to the table with the computer on it. He couldn't handle seeing his brother's empty bed, the guns still lying across it when they had chosen their weapons the night before. He just walked over to the table and turned the chair and computer to face the wall, his back to the rest of the room. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep it up forever but for now he would pretend nothing was amiss.

Collapsing into the chair he rubbed his head, the pain from his vision was still lingering. It hadn't left him alone since he'd woken from it in the water, it had lessened slightly but hurt enough to limit his brain function.

He opened the laptop and started to search for the vacant buildings in the area. He wouldn't let anything stop him now, he had lost Dean and now it was his job to find him.

_Don't worry big brother…I'm coming. I'm so sorry…please just wait…_

It felt weird to be on the other side, is this how his brother had felt when the Benders had taken him? He couldn't believe Dean had kept it together to rescue him, and because his brother had, he owed it to him to do the same. So he sat, typing, reading, ignoring the pain and exhaustion. Nothing had or ever would keep him from his brother.

He had been searching for about 3 hours, compiling list after list, double checking on different sites, making sure he got every building that was a possibility. Warehouses, homes, construction sites, farms, anything he could think of went down on Dean's paper pad.

Finally he was content with the list so he stood slowly, stretching his back and wincing. His muscles were still sore from everything and even now the headache remained. He was starting to believe it would never leave him.

_Good…it's a good reminder that I have something I need to do…that it's my responsibility. Now get your ass moving._

He turned towards his bed where his bag lay, glancing at Dean's bed. He took down a deep breath and grabbed a pair of pants from his duffle then hurried into the bathroom to get changed. When he was done he came out, grabbed his gun, the list, and the car keys. He left the room and made his way to Dean's pride and joy, opening the driver's door and getting in.

He wouldn't let his thoughts linger on how wrong it felt to drive her without Dean's permission or presence. He quickly turned the ignition and headed towards the first address.

He had checked about 5 buildings by the time the sun started to set, and his heart was in anguish. A day gone, and so was Dean. He had failed in finding him, and he had failed in keeping him. So he headed back to the motel, knowing that tonight he would have to patrol again, this time alone. It would take more time if he would have to cover all the ground himself but he was actually looking forward to it.

If he finds these things, maybe they'll lead him to Dean. But now he had another job, he had to protect someone else tonight.

_What if I fail again?_

Sam shook his head, not letting that thought linger because he wouldn't let himself fail. No way in hell. He reached the motel, dropped off the car and ran into his room, grabbing the few things he would need and immediately took off again to start his hunt.

He was around halfway through his hunt when he had spotted them. He had felt the terror, the rage, and the disgust that filled him when they had come into sight. But he didn't feel helpless, not this time. This time he could stop them, this time he didn't have to sit idly by and watch them steal lives. This time he could fight, and that's what he intended to do, fight tooth and nail until he couldn't fight anymore.

He refused to let his fear stop him and spotted their target before they reached the building. He darted across the street in order to be closer so that when they let themselves in he could do the same. He ducked behind a dumpster in an alley and prepared his exhausted body and pained mind for the fight. When the door opened and they disappeared behind it he ran forward and entered just after them, mimicking Dean's movements from the previous night.

He moved inside the building. It was a two story apartment building, small but big enough to hold eight apartments. Their were four on the first floor, two on each side and Sam could see from where he was standing that at the top of the stairs there were another four doors. He quickly moved to the staircase and began to climb, keeping low to the ground.

As he reached the top he stopped and momentarily sat on the step, catching his breath as a wave of dizziness hit him. He watched as the men entered the door furthest from him at the end of the hall, and he scrambled off the steps to make his way to the apartment. He had to save it's occupant…or occupants.

_Oh god if there's two and they die…they'll have all the hearts they'll need. But then why would they take Dean?_

Moving to the door that was standing slightly ajar, he peaked through the crack and saw a small living room. Not seeing his enemy anywhere, he entered the apartment, cautious of any sounds but still slightly out of it. His head was pounding even more now that he was here, his anxiety contributing to the lingering pain.

He hugged the wall and slowly moved down a hallway towards the bedroom door. His heart was beginning to race, his breathing was starting to become more shallow, and he could hardly control himself. He was pushing himself forward, towards his fears, towards murderers and possibly towards another death.

He pulled his glock out of his waistband, it might not hurt these things, but it might warn their victim of their attack before it's too late. He touched the door and pushed slightly, letting it open more, allowing him to see the contents of the room.

There they stood, all encasing the bed, all in their black-suited horror, all staring down at the lone woman in her bed. She was still sleeping so the first thing Sam did was cock his gun and fire a shot at the closest monster. The blast that resounded throughout the hole town effectively woke the woman from her slumber.

She stared, completely frozen in fear, at the things standing around her bed. Then her eyes moved to the source of the sound and she saw the young man standing with a gun pointing at the creature closest to him. She looked at him, and he looked at her, their eyes met and she knew right away that he was trying to save her.

He knew she understood why he was here and only hoped that he would be able to accomplish his goal, she couldn't die, not like this.

He stood, gun levelled at the creature in front of him, waiting for some kind of reaction. The bullet didn't seem to do any kind of damage to the thing and all of the monsters attention was still fixed on the girl in the bed while she stared at him with a pleading look in her eyes.

Then, slowly, all the heads turned in his direction, all moving in unison. He could feel the colour drain from his face as he was met with every maniacal grin the rooms contents could muster. But then he saw the girl, and his arm didn't falter, his feet didn't betray him and his determination stayed strong.

He fired shot after shot at the things, trying to draw them away from her, anything that would give her time to escape. She bullets hit their targets and sank into the suits, creating holes in the fabric but nothing else. Still he carried on. Sam was not a quitter and he could not let another person die for these things.

_Come on you bastards! You want a strong heart? COME AND GET IT!_

He began to advance on the monsters, tempting them to move forward. It was then that he realized his mistake. His eyes quickly spun around the room, looking at each creature. One, two, three, four, five, six, sev…where was the seventh?

Pain, everything was shrouded in pain all of a sudden. He gasped, his grip on his gun faltered and it clattered to the floor. His now glazed eyes darted around the room, trying to put the pieces together, trying to pinpoint the cause of the sudden agony.

His arm slowly reached behind him, feeling for anything. And he found it, embedded in his lower back, surrounded in the warmth he knew to be his blood. A dagger, no, a hunting knife, big. But not big enough to kill him, he knew that much. His hand slid over the hilt of the knife as his knees dropped him to the floor. He was now kneeling in front of these demons, a humiliating stance and he could feel his shame building.

How could he have been so reckless…so stupid. Why wasn't he completely prepared?

He was still holding onto the knife when he shifted his gaze to the girl. She must have been about 20, blonde, tall for a girl too and very pretty. But her eyes, Sam would never forget them at this one moment.

They were filled with anguish, fear, hopelessness, helplessness and most of all, anger. She was angry at these things, not for breaking into her home and threatening to kill her, but because they had attacked the man who was trying to save her life. Someone she sensed to be very much like herself, strong and kind-hearted. She could tell just by looking into his eyes that he would give his life for hers in a second. Warmth and kindness lived there, in the green orbs, but also loss, sorrow and a deep guilt eating at his soul.

She was infuriated, she didn't care what these things did to her anymore, she just wanted to help him. But she couldn't, she saw that as the monster who had stabbed him quickly drew it's knife like fingers around his neck, pulling him back. She saw the man wince and shut his eyes against the pain, and then the syringe when it was imbedded into his neck.

As he blacked out, they both shared the exact same thought.

_I'm so sorry I couldn't save you._

The only thing she was relieved about was that he wouldn't have to be a witness to her demise. She didn't want anyone to have to watch that. The thought of herself dying terrified her, but she knew it was inevitable. That didn't mean she wouldn't fight, she'd fight until they pulled every last bit of her life out of her, but she knew that they would win.

So that's what she did, she fought, she died fighting. She died thinking of her family and friends, silently apologizing to each of them that she never got the chance to say goodbye. She said her final farewells to the world, ignoring the pain her body was enduring and allowing her mind to wander over her wonderful life. And then everything went black, and she was gone.

Sam would always remember those eyes, her face would never leave him. In that one moment he had felt love for her, not the kind he had felt for Jess, but a deep seeded compassion shared between human beings of the same nature. And it killed him knowing that he would never see those eyes alive ever again. And once again, it was his fault.


	12. Bittersweet Reunion

Chapter 12: Bittersweet Reunion

Part 1

He didn't know how long he'd been hanging there, there seemed to be a lot of that going on. He wasn't blindfolded but as far as he could tell, he was underground. There was no windows or lights which meant that he had no concept of time. The only reason he knew he'd been there for a while was the fact that he'd lost all feeling in his dislocated shoulder and the other had been burning for hours now.

No one had come in since he had woken up here and he wasn't sure if that was good or bad. The only thing he could be thankful for was that he was in more or less good shape, he may even be able to put up a fight. But his thoughts were weighed down by a lot more guilt then relief over his condition.

His job is to protect people from the supernatural, to kill all the evil sons of bitches that decide to mess with his race. And so far this hunt had yielded nothing but failure. He had failed to save the girl the first night they were hear, and then he had been captured and let two more people be murdered.

He shivered thinking about the scene that was playing when he had been present, he didn't even want to think about what had happened after he left. But he knew what the outcome had been.

_Shit…so much for a hunter, I think I should officially be categorized in the hunted section…_

But the thing that worried him most was Sam. He hadn't talked to his brother before this had all played out, he didn't even know if Sammy was ok.

_What the hell am I thinking…of course he's not ok. He's probably driving himself crazy if he knows I'm missing. Again…great move Dean. Sorry Sammy, I didn't mean for this to happen. I should listen to you more often._

He would never admit it out loud, but he had lost count of the number of times Sam had saved his ass. Just being backup all the time had changed the outcome of hunts so many times it made Dean dizzy thinking about it. When he was hunting with his brother there was always the 'what ifs' in his head and different scenarios would play. Most often the scenarios would revolve around "what if Sammy hadn't been there?"

So knowing that, he also knew that it was the same for Sam. And right now, assuming his brother knew these things had him, Sam would be pacing, researching, and driving around like crazy.

_Oh and you can't forget the guilt tripping…that kid can brood himself into tomorrow…_

Hanging by his arms, his feet never touching the ground, was starting to exhaust him. Unconsciously he had been using his arms to lift himself ever so slightly to relieve some stress on his shoulders. He had been doing it for hours and only just noticed.

_Well that explains the stupid cramps…good one Dean. Come on…_

He hung there for a while longer before finally his eyes began to close and his arms went limp, he swung slightly as his arms straightened. As he lost consciousness he couldn't help but think about what was going to happen to him and fear washed over him before he became numb to the world.

Dean was suddenly awoken when he heard a large door opening, the sound coming from behind and above him, thus proving that he was underground or in some kind of basement at least. He began to open his eyes to identify the new character in this highly twisted story known as his life. But as his eyelids opened, a light was flicked on, sending shards of pain through his eyes, in reaction he quickly clamped the lids shut.

Sam's eyes burned from the invading light, making him shut his eyes as soon as the light was turned on. Everything then went quiet while they let their eyes adjust, the person who had entered standing silently at the top of the stairs. That's when Sam noticed another breathing pattern besides his own. This person's breaths sounded strained, much like Sam's were and the sounds the air made triggered recognition. Suddenly he needed his eyes open, he needed to see Dean, just to know that he was still alive.

Heels could be heard clicking down the stairs, slowly descending and approaching the two men hanging from the ceiling, completely vulnerable. She walked close enough to be in the taller boy's line of sight, and slightly off to the side of the shorter man's.

Sam's eyes adjusted first and he slowly opened the lids. Before he could search out his brother to make sure he was there, his heart stopped and his eyes filled with tears. His breath hitched and he looked through the tears to make sure of what he had seen.

Then she spoke, "Hello Sam." An evil grin spreading across her face as her eyes turned black.

And his heart broke, a tear freeing itself and sliding down his cheek.

Dean had just opened his eyes and saw his baby brother hanging across from him. He smiled just knowing that Sam was alive and now he wasn't alone anymore. But overall, as Dean searched his brother's body for injuries, he didn't look so good. His body was shivering uncontrollably and a sickly grey tinge had settled into his skin. His big brother eyes did their visual check, scanning for the source of the problem.

There it was, he could only see the hilt that so closely resembled the one that he held firmly while sleeping. It was stuck in his baby brother's lower back, the incision it had created leaking blood onto the floor. The dripping drew his attention and he saw the small, but growing, pool of blood on the floor under Sam's feet.

The worst was when he looked up to his brother's sweat soaked face. His eyes were glassy, blood loss kicking in but also something else. Then he heard something that drew his attention elsewhere.

'Hello Sam."

_Oh god…that voice…where do I know that from!?_

Craning his neck to get a view of the speaker, his eyes widened when he found her.

_Oh shit…Sammy…oh god…_

_Sarah…_

Part 2

He looked back to his brother when her gaze was fixed on Sam, smiling cruelly, knowingly. What he saw broke his heart. If it weren't for his trained eyes he would have missed the tear that tracked through the sweat on the younger's cheek.

Sam couldn't believe it, how could this have happened? He hadn't seen her in so long at yet there she was. How had anything found her?

_I tried to warn you…I'm so sorry Sarah! I'm sorry…_

She approached him, sauntering over to his prone body as his eyes followed her. His broken eyes. Her dead eyes. As much anger filled him, it didn't compare to the sadness that welled inside of him. Now he had truly hurt everyone he had ever cared about, and he was sick of doing it.

Dean on the other hand could barely hold his anger. How could these sick bastards do this to his brother? And how the hell did anybody find out about Sam and Sarah, it happened a while ago and the only reason Dean remembered her was because for the short time Sam had been with her, he had been truly happy.

But now whatever happiness or smile that came along with the mention of Sarah would be replaced by guilt and painful memories. Once again they had been robbed of any memories to cherish. The same had happened when John had been possessed, both boys had flinched every time they saw him after that, they had just been really good at hiding it.

Sam fought to keep his emotions in check and wasn't totally failing. If he had failed he would have broken into sobs for the second time in 24 hours, but now he limited himself to one tear and hitched breathing. He was exhausted and nauseous, he knew the knife was still in his back, grating against his lowest rib, making him cringe every time he moved.

Sarah came closer to Sam, practically pressing against him. She smiled at him, loving the pain she saw in his eyes, this was going exactly as planned. She lifted her hand and cupped his cheek, looking up at him lovingly. As I final touch she returned her eyes to the normal green and brown.

He knew that this wasn't Sarah but he couldn't help the feelings he had when she had appeared. He had expected to be over this by now, but the second she walked in everything cam back, all the comfort, honesty, happiness and even the hidden love he had for her.

So when she held his face and looked at him with Sarah's eyes, his reaction shocked him. Anger filled him, rage towards the demon wearing her face. This demon had messed with someone he loved and for that it would pay dearly, he could guarantee it.

As the anger surged forward the demon took a step back, suddenly afraid for a moment of what he would do. She had been told all about him, that's why she was here, the whole point she had summoned those things.

Dean watched as his brother's face contorted in rage and the muscles in his arms bunched, ready to lift him in order to attack.

Just as Sam went to lift his legs he felt something loosen and the next thing he knew, his feet were on the floor, his arms falling to his sides. The shackles that had bound him hanging from the ceiling, the lock holding them closed lying on the floor, smoking.

He didn't waste time wondering what the hell he just did and instead lunged at Sarah grabbing her around the waist and pulling her to the ground. He raised his fist to punch her once he had her pinned, but she just smiled at him and removed the hand that had been on his arm.

With lightening quickness she reached behind him and grabbed the hilt of the knife, giving it a tug out and then plunging it back into him with enough force to jerk him forward. His arm dropped to the ground and he slumped over, trying to catch his breath while wishing he had the release to scream or moan or anything.

Dean had been watching the whole time, his mouth hanging open. The locks had started to steam when Sam had turned red with anger and when he silently snarled they burst open, sending him to the ground. Dean stared at the lock, then looked back to his brother, almost scared of the look on his brother's face. If it weren't for the fact that he was incapable of doing so, he would have felt sorry for the demon who was going to take the brunt of Sam's anger.

But when Sam lunged forward and grabbed Sarah around the waist he knew Sam was making a mistake. If Sam hurt this demon then he was going to hurt Sarah, and he knew that Sam wouldn't handle that very well on top of everything else.

Another reason he knew this was a mistake was the knife. And that mistake screwed Sam over when she used it against him again. Dean began to struggle furiously, wanting desperately to help Sam. He needed to protect his brother. So he did the only thing he knew he could.

_Sammy…Sam you ok man?_

Sam was on all fours, his head hanging while he panted. Sarah had pulled herself out from under him and was now standing beside him, looking rather smug. But her attitude faltered when Sam lifted his head to look at his brother for the first time, determination mixing with the pain in his eyes as the two men looked at each other and Sam nodded.

She was confused, why would he nod? Maybe it was just a silent understanding thing that she would never really understand between brothers. Her family wasn't built on trust and love, more like loyalty and fear.

_Sam, you sure you're ok? You don't look so good! Just take it easy…and you know that if you hurt her you're gonna hurt Sarah right?_

Sam again nodded but left his head droop in shame and exhaustion.

_Oh god I almost hurt Sarah…how could I?_

Dean noticed the shame in his posture and quickly countered the thoughts that he wasn't aloud access to.

_Sam, this is not your fault! These demons are tricky bastards and will use everything you have against you! _

He waited for the nod again and hen continued.

_Hey Sam, you're gonna have to get that knife out, it could infect you with something. It's gonna hurt but you need to do it. I mean come on…you got a weapon at your finger tips! _Dean tried his humour to lighten the moment and thankfully he received a small smile and appreciative glance before Sam reached behind his back to find the blade.

As his fingers closed around the hilt he winced, then sought out his brother's eyes for comfort and strength. When he found them his courage took over and he quickly and carefully drew the knife from his flesh. He gritted his teeth in pain and once again began to pant.

Dean flinched in sympathy but didn't break eye contact, they both needed it. When the knife was free Sam slowly raised himself to his feet and put on his game face. Then a small smile was delivered to the older hunter before Sam again was filled with his anger, the only thing he had to use against this demon besides the knife.

But really the knife was useless, he wasn't about to stab Sarah. He only hoped that if he used it as a threat, the demon would believe him.

"What are you going to do Sammy? Are you gonna kill me? I mean that is what you're good at right…hurting people you love and killing everyone around you?" Sarah spoke with a smile on her face, seeing right through whatever lie he was going to weave with the knife.

_No…that wasn't me. It's always one of you…do you think that maybe this obsession you all have with me is a little unhealthy?_

He just wished he could have voiced that one. Instead he just dropped the knife knowing it would be completely useless now and stood before her. His anger was obvious and so was his frustration at the fact that he had nothing to use against her.

Dean continued to struggle, hoping that he'd get free and be able to help his younger brother. But to no avail, his chances would not come loose no matter how hard he tried.

_Damn…it's times like these I wish I had spoon bending powers!_

Sam flicked his eyes towards his brother as a small smirk appeared on his face. Sarah saw it and the look ad again wondered about what was going on. Before with the knife there seemed to be some kind of conversation going on. Sam nodding a lot and Dean giving him looks of confidence and then a smirk which was countered with a small smile…

"You can hear him can't you Sam? That's a pretty cool trick psychic boy. I'm guessing this only just started…you look tired Sam are you ok?" She mocked as Sam's anger began to give way to his body.

He was swaying slightly, the blood still flowing and soaking through his clothes and down his pants. His boots and socks were filled with the warm fluid and there was a small pool of it again at his feet. You could have tracked his every move judging on where the drops and puddles were.

Dean saw Sam starting to buckle and reached out to him.

_Sammy just hold on! Wait I'm coming alright?_

But Sam's eyes were already beginning to blink rapidly, his hand had gone to his back to try to stem the blood flow. He couldn't help it as his legs slumped down and he was once again on his knees. He could feel bruises begin to form where his knees kept connecting with the ground

"What's wrong? You really don't look so good! But don't worry baby we'll make you all better I promise." She walked forward and couched in front of him. "You're not going to die Sam so don't worry about that. I can't let that happen, you mean too much to us." She leaned forward and whispered into his face. "And I love you."

She leaned closer and kissed him, using her hands to keep him from falling. He was losing his grip on everything but the one thing he knew was that this wasn't right. The last time he had kissed her it had felt right, like they were meant to be together and he still believed that. But this was wrong.

This wasn't the same person and as much as wanted to hear those three words come out of her mouth, he didn't want it like this. Again the tears collected, this time more than one spilled over. His mouth opened as she retreated and looked at him with Sarah's eyes.

"I love you Sarah" He couldn't say them but the message was obvious when his lips formed the words.

Part 3

Dean could only look on as the second woman his little brother loved was slowly being torn apart. The demon destroying her image in Sam's eyes and in his heart. He knew from what his father had told him that demonic possession was painful and that you were aware of everything as it was happening.

This was probably also tearing Sarah up knowing what Sam was going through, what this demon was making her do to him. He had never been more heart sick for Sam than he was now, Dean had only ever loved two women in his life, one had died, and the other he had left for the same reason Sam had left Sarah.

He knew what it felt like to have to leave someone. But he didn't know what it felt like to see the love of your life burn on the ceiling above you and then have to leave the woman you fall in love with only to have her come back like this.

He couldn't help his brother. This emotional battle went beyond what Dean could repair. Sarah would be the one who would have to fix the broken heart Dean knew Sam was suffering from. He only hoped that before this was all over, whether any of them survived or not, Sam and Sarah would be able to talk together, tell each other everything they needed to say.

If they didn't then Sam would remain broken, everything happening creating new cracks in his glass heart.

Sam continued to sway, the only thing keeping him up was Sarah's grasp on his head. But she let go of him, shredding his heart, and fell forward. He landed with a soft thud and lay still, his open eyes searching the room for his brother.

Dean was barely holding it together, he felt so useless and nothing he could do would help Sam. His brother was lying on the floor slowly bleeding out, his heart a million jagged pieces and all Dean could do was watch it all happen. His rage continued to build and he knew he had to find someway of distracting her from his brother or getting him the help he needed, or he would die.

Dean looked up at Sarah as her eyes flicked up to his. They were once again a bottomless void and he shuddered while looking into them. He didn't know how to convey his message, he couldn't speak and he couldn't make any hand motions so he did something he would never normally do.

He looked at her pleadingly, flicking his eyes in between his brother and their captor, trying to make her understand that Sam needed help. He felt humiliated that he was showing these emotions willingly to this demon but he had no choice.

A smirk spread across her face and she stood momentarily, just soaking up the look Dean was giving her, making her feel extremely powerful. Then she finally leaned down and lightly lifted Sam's shirt to get a better look at the wound.

The edges were bright red and his back was now covered in blood that was dry, drying or fresh. It needed to be cleaned and stitched otherwise Sam would most certainly get an infection. Blood loss was definitely taking a toll on his body, shudders spreading through his system.

Sam felt nauseous, everything was catching up with him and he was so tired. He just wanted to close his eyes and sleep. He hadn't slept since that first night he had gained his new ability, and the ability alone was exhausting him. But now on top of that he had missed two days worth of sleep, the only rest he'd gotten was drug induced and didn't count and to top it all off his body was giving out.

Sarah gave Sam a quick once over to determine whether or not he would have the strength to get up or move around. When she was satisfied that that wasn't an option for the young hunter, she stood and shot Dean a warning look before turning and climbing the stairs out of the room.

Dean watched after her, he wasn't sure if she was just going to leave Sam like that or if she was going to help him. His gaze quickly shifted to his brother, making sure that each next breath came. After a few minutes he heard the door opening again and Sarah re-entered with a bag under her arm.

She walked straight to Sam and kneeled down, placing the bag beside her. She quickly pulled out some swabs and towels to clean up the dried and oozing blood so she could actually see what she was doing. When she had done that, she checked out the wound completely. It didn't look so good, but with stitches and cleaning it should end up leaving a scar and not much else.

The blood was considerably slower now as the wound was trying to stem the flow. Sarah wiped away what was left of the blood before cleaning out the incision. Sam would shiver or shrink away every once in a while when the pain went over his current limit, but other than that he stayed completely still.

When she took out a suture kit and began working on that, his hands lightly clenched against the floor. He was trying to keep himself under control but it was becoming increasingly difficult. He was getting more and more exhausted and knew he would pass out soon. But for now he was happy with looking at his brother and pretending nothing else was there.

Dean had returned his gaze to Sam's when Sarah had come back in and hadn't broken eye contact yet.

_Don't worry Sammy, you're gonna be alright ok? I promise we're going to get out of this. Just hold on little brother, I know it hurts but she's almost done._

Sam could only blink in response and each time he did it was harder to lift the heavy lids. After about 10 more blinks he couldn't do it anymore and let his eyes relax. He could hear his brother begin to struggle again.

_Sammy! Sammy, come on little brother, stay awake! Stay with me Sam!_

The strength of emotion in that one thought alone sent Sam's already exhausted mind reeling into the dark. Maybe he would finally get some sleep, maybe his brain would be too tired to create more nightmares for him. Maybe when he woke up he'd be lying in a crappy bed next to a nightstand that was next to another crappy bed containing the one thing in his life that truly mattered.

Maybe this was all a nightmare.

_Please…_


	13. Son of a Bitch

Chapter 13: Son of a Bitch

Part 1

Dean had continued to hang from his post while Sarah had finished fixing Sam and had lifted him back up to put the shackles on again. When Sam was snugly secured she turned from him and met his eyes, moving towards him.

"Consider yourself lucky that the one I'm interested in is Sam. Right now I don't need him dying on me so I'm gonna let him rest up for a bit. But don't worry Dean, the fun will start soon and I know you won't want to miss it. Until then though, you may want to get some rest yourself Dean. You'll need it."

And with that she once again turned off the light and left the room, closing the door with an enormous thud and locking it behind her. Dean was worried about his brother, he hadn't seen Sam respond when he was lifted and bound again even though he had seen him slowly returning to consciousness.

When all he could hear was his brother's shallow breaths big brother mode kicked in.

_Hey Sam? Listen to me alright…I want you to understand every word I'm about to say. This. Is. Not. Your. Fault. In. Any. Way. I mean seriously dude, you couldn't have known and even if you did what could we have done? We're on the other side of the country!_

He didn't get any response, not even a grunt or sigh. So he tried again, he had to get through to him before Sam decided to give up.

_Sam please. Come on don't do this, you can't protect everyone. She's not gone man, she's still there…somewhere. I swear to god we won't leave here until we get her back alright? We can save he Sam…you can save her._

Finally he received an answer, a soft sob followed by a grunt and sigh. He could practically see Sam's face in his head as his little brother's features changed from devastated to determined. Dean now relied on Sam's love for Sarah and his strong will to keep both of them going. Chances were that their enemy knew what would happen to one brother if something happened to the other.

He could only do his best to hold out on whatever they had planned for them and make sure he got Sam through this one. He had a feeling that this was going to get worse before it got better and he was worried that his brother wouldn't make it through this one. The demon possessing Sarah, not that was a low blow, even for a demon.

Now they were stuck in a very uncomfortable silence, not able to console each other, they might as well of been alone. So they both sat, silently in pain and drowning in misery but fighting to break the surface. At some point they both drifted off and were freed from their nightmare for a few short, happy hours. This one night Sam's brain was too tired and delirious to even create torturous dreams so he actually slept and couldn't of asked for anything more than that.

This time Dean was brought out of his mind first, his eyes adjusting to the light that had just been flicked on. As soon as he could stand the illumination he looked at his brother to make sure he was ok. Sam looked pale but some of his colour had returned and he was no longer bleeding from the wound in his back. His face looked peaceful and Dean couldn't help it as yet again the first sight of his brother brought a small smile to his face.

_Well thank god he actually got to sleep without those freakin nightmares._

He let his eyes then roam around the rest of the room, content with the current state of his baby brother. His eyes shifted to the base of the stairs and a shiver ran up and down his spine. Seven tall, hovering, expensively clad figures stood around the entrance to the cellar. Every one of them wore their polite, misleading smiles as they stared at the two bodies suspended from the ceiling with an almost animalistic hunger in the dead orbs they considered eyes.

Dean immediately tensed upon the realization that they were there and he knew he would have to disturb his brother's release to warn him of the threat. But as he kept his eyes trained on the enemy they didn't make a move, they didn't even twitch or falter in anyway. Sammy still needed to be warned though so Dean called out to him begrudgingly.

_Sam! Hey, come on time to get up kiddo! Sorry to disturb your beauty rest but it ain't helping anything! Rise and shine!_

He kept his thoughts as light and fear free as he could so as not to panic his brother. Sam began to move slightly, his head turning back and forth in awakening and slowly rising off of his chest. His stoic face then turned to one of confusion and fear when he remembered their predicament. He remembered what had happened up until he had hit the ground but everything after that was blurry. He had no idea why he was hung up again or even why he was still alive.

But he, like his brother, spotted the gentlemen and was suddenly filled with rage and sadness. But he was now determined, as his memories from Dean's pep talk returned to him and he wasn't going to show these things any fear. The only thing he was going to show them was deep resolve, anger and eventually a close up of his fist.

They continued to stare at the brothers as the door was heard opening yet again and Sarah entered, as usual her attention was fixed on Sam. The younger's eyes saddened momentarily when he saw her but was quickly masked by the anger he planned on using against the demon within her. She walked forward gracefully until she was standing between the men, then she turned her gaze to Dean.

"Well Dean how was your sleep? I bet you're feeling much better now aren't you. And Sammy there is looking much better now too. But I guess we're just going to have to fix that, a few old friends are going to help me with a new treatment I've been dying to try. Don't worry it doesn't hurt…too much anyways."

Both of the boys didn't give a reaction and just looked at her, Dean glaring and Sam blank. Neither would show their fear or pain, not to the Gentlemen and most certainly not to a demon. So they both resolved to stay strong and determined, as always.

Sarah seemed pleased with their lack of reaction, getting what she wanted from them would be more interesting this way. She wanted things from them, but there were also things the needed from them, and if she couldn't get them it would mean her life. She was rather attached to her life and wanted very much to keep it so all of what she needed she was going to get, one way or another.

She approached the gentlemen at the stairs and held out her hand to them. One of the gentlemen passed her a bag, smiling politely and nearly bowing as he did so. She took the bag from him with a grin almost as unnerving as the other ones in the room. She began to retreat from them with the bag in her hand and nodded at them to follow her slowly. When she was once again standing between the suspended men she looked at Sam and her smile slowly faded into a face of concern.

"You ok there Sam? You've been awfully quiet this whole time…isn't there anything you want to say to me? I'm sorry, maybe? Oh right I forgot, you can't say anything can you…you're helpless and you can't stop anything I'm going to do to you and your brother…and sweet Sarah."

Sam finally lifted his eyes from their unfocused stare and looked the demon right in the face. Anger and resolve stared deep into her black eyes and didn't flinch or blink, it was daunting even for a demon and her mask wavered slightly. But then she reigned in her fears and backed away from Sam, a swagger in her step.

The beckoned the tallest of the creatures forward and when he was standing in front of her she held out the bag and opened it. She offered it to him, "Go ahead, take what you think you'll need."

Part 2

The gentlemen bowed his head in thanks and reached into the bag, rifled for a moment, then pulled out a small plastic case. He brought the case up to his face and looked it over, then seemingly satisfied lowered it and opened the box. He turned to his peers and held the case out to them, each one also bowing politely and taking two of what was being offered.

Acupuncture needles were now being held by all of the creatures and the tallest passed the bow back to Sarah. She then reached into it herself and removed the last two pins before throwing the box carelessly into the bag that was now dropped on the floor.

They monsters split and floated towards their prey. Four approached Dean and three approached Sam, followed by Sarah who seemed intent on making Sam her patient. As before Sam and Dean hid their fear from the creatures, but their eyes flicked in an automatic search for reassurance.

As green met hazel they both came to a silent understanding. They wouldn't give these things what they wanted, but they would do all they could to protect the other.

_Don't give in Sam. I swear we'll get out of this, we always do don't we? Just hang in there little brother alright? I'm sorry Sammy…_

Sam understood the apology, Dean was blaming himself for getting caught and then not being there to keep Sam from coming to the same fate. But Sam couldn't blame Dean if he tried, he never could be mad at his brother for something like this.

Sam gave Dean his best sympathetic and forgiving look before focusing his eyes back to his captors and covering his emotions again with rage. Deep inside his body he wanted to use his powers, but he couldn't jeopardize Dean if they decided that there would be a consequence for it. So he settled for now and prepared himself for what was to come.

"Alright boys, now I'm wondering…have you ever had acupuncture before? It is really quite relaxing you know…certain nerves release all kinds of stress and it feels great. But then of course there are those nerves that can cause a hell of a lot of pain or even paralysing you temporarily. Did you know that? I didn't…not until I met these gents and started a little research about different procedures. I've been dying to see what actually happens when those nerves get pressed the wrong way."

Sarah smiled again and advanced on Sam until she was practically leaning against him, her face reaching the level of his chest. She took one of the pins in her hand and brought it up to her eye level, examining it then looking past it to his body. Her eyes flicked back and forth, finding just the right spot. And when she did she looked up into his eyes and held his gaze as she placed the needle against his torso and pushing it through his shirt and into his skin.

At first he felt nothing, those needles aren't designed to be felt. But then all of a sudden his chest exploded in pain and his lungs refused to fill. He began gasping and struggling against his bonds, his head reared back and rested against his arms. His eyes clamped shut and he ground his teeth to keep from making a sound.

Dean watched as his brother reacted so suddenly to whatever was happening and began to struggle himself. He had to get to his brother, Sam couldn't breath. He could hear his brother gasping through clenched teeth and watched as Sarah ran her hand down Sam's chest.

"You know Sam, I've always wondered what it would have been like if you had stayed. That kiss didn't quite abate what it was that I wanted. I wanted all of you, I still do. I can make the pain stop if you'll just give me what I want, give me you."

_Sammy! Don't listen to her alright? That's not Sarah…that's some demonic bitch trying to break you…you can't let her win Sam! Please fight her little brother!_

Sam was still as determined as ever and didn't even feel her hand on his chest, but he did hear her voice. He let go in one ear and out the other, he wasn't going to give her what she wanted, not until he got what he wanted.

_Don't worry big brother, I'm not giving this bastard anything! Not until I know you and Sarah are safe…I'm going to fight with everything I got._

Finally Sarah removed the pin, a little disappointed that Sam hadn't reacted to her but at the same time more thrilled to get this show on the road. The pin was extracted and Sam immediately relaxed against his bonds and started to breath regularly.

Dean breathed a sigh of relief when Sam seemed to recover from his pain pretty quickly. He was at least breathing again. Sarah turned to the gentlemen with Dean and nodded at him to start his job as she would continue with hers.

Over the next hours they would pinch nerves and restrict air supplies through the precision of the needle points. Finally the boys began to sag even more against the chains and exhaustion began to set in. Sam wasn't doing too well anymore, his breathing was irregular and he was constantly wincing whenever a breath was drawn, the pain in his back seeming to have multiplied due to stress on his body.

Dean wasn't doing so hot either but he figured he could go a few more rounds and be ok, not that he wanted to. As usual the worst part was the smiles and faces of the creatures circling him, passing needles back and forth, sticking them here and there.

Sometimes he'd twitch uncontrollably, sometimes he would tense uncontrollably and sometimes he wouldn't be able to move at all. But every time the needle invaded his body intense pain surged through his nerve endings, travelled up his spine and hit the snap system in his brain.

But neither of them had given in, neither had passed out and neither had let their fear rule them. And for that admiration grew among them and even the demon couldn't help but envy the resilience she was coming up against.

Sarah became bored with this and decided it was time to push Sam even further.

"Stop! Step away from them, it's my turn now. Sam do you think you could save your brother if I let you go?"

Sam's eyes flung to her, all of a sudden hope flashed and confidence flooded through him.

"Just like you saved those people in that house when you got their too late? Or how about that girl, you were there and you couldn't even stop her death."

The confidence vanished, replaced by guilt and sorrow. He wasn't so sure anymore if he could save his brother, but god he wanted to.

"I'll tell you what, I' going to give you a chance to save Dean. I'm going to untie you and you can get out of here," she said as she walked up to him. She reached above him and started twisting at the semi melted locks. His wrists broke free suddenly sending him to the floor and he momentarily rested their, stunned and exhausted.

Dean watched his brother begin to rise. _I don't like this Sammy, something's up…be careful alright?_

Sam looked at Dean and nodded his reassurance. He put all of his attention and effort into rising off the floor, his legs weak from the trauma he'd been receiving over the last days. He was on one knee and about to draw himself up when Sarah moved in behind him and plunged a needle into his back.

Sam squeezed his eyes shut in pain and gasped. All of a sudden he collapsed on the floor, he couldn't move a muscle. Everything was locked up and he had no control.

_Sam! Man you ok? Come on Sammy…just hold on alright? Don't try to force it…that needles gotta be screwing with something ok?_

Sam only continued to gasp but stopped trying to move, each attempt increased the pain in his body.

"Ok Sam, here's your chance. Get to Dean and unlock his chains…if you can do that you're free to go. But here's the thing, you have to make it to Dean before he passes out otherwise neither of you is going anywhere. It's all on you Sammy."

She kneeled down next to him and whispered into his ear, "Don't let your brother down." Then she kissed his cheek and straightened again. Sam's eyes had widened and his breaths had come quicker after hearing that he had a time limit.

Sarah moved to the bag still lying on the floor and drew out an item, Sam didn't know what it was but it was sharp and it was serrated. The younger brother lay on the floor, unable to move while the older hanged from the ceiling, sagging in his chains.

Sarah approached the older brother with the item and Dean weekly struggled as did Sam.

Part 3

"Dean, I know you try so hard to save your brother all the time. But does he ever save you? I mean you've given everything in order to keep him safe, to give him what it is he needs. But what about Sam? What has he given up for you?" Sarah waited for some kind of response but all she got was a look that said clearly gave the impression he thought she was crazy.

"I'm giving him the chance to save you right now and look at him. He's lying on the floor like a slug, but even trying to get to you. Now what does that say about his devotion to you huh?"

_Don't listen Sam. This evil son of a bitch doesn't know what the hell it's talkin about. Demon's lie…remember that no matter what! Try to get that needle out of your neck but don't hurt yourself alright?_

_Damn, you've got some nerve talking about Sam like that. I swear when I get down the first thing I'm going to do is book you a one way ticket down south._

Sam was somewhat comforted by Dean's words but still felt every bit as helpless as before. Thinking back on this job he had failed in protecting everyone, the couple, the girl that died the night they got here, the girl that had died last night…and Dean. Hell he hadn't even been able to protect himself.

But he still tried, he began to command his muscles to work. They refused though, his orders never made it through his body as they became trapped in his brain. Sarah drew closer to Den, holding the blade out in front of her. The best way to describe it would be to say it looked like a fork, but bigger and much sharper with serrated edges lining all three prongs.

He didn't want to scare his brother too much so Dean stopped struggling and eyed the weapon, tracking it's every move. Maybe Sam would be able to somehow free himself from his paralysis and actually save his ass, but he wasn't going to get his hopes up. He slid his game face on and waited for what was coming, he wasn't going to give in and as long as her attention was on him and not Sam that was one less thing to trouble him.

Sarah licked her lips in anticipation, her only regret was that she wouldn't be able to hear Dean scream. She wanted that so much, almost as much as she wanted Sam, but not quite. So she was settled just for the pain she was going to inflict on both brothers by doing this, and pushing Sam one step closer to the edge.

The blade moved closer, Dean's heart sped, and Sam struggled wildly in his mind. Sarah walked right up to Dean, placing herself seductively against his body and running her free hand down his chest. When she reached his waist back she felt him shiver, the skin visible between the rim of his shirt and his pants rippling with goose bumps. She smiled up at him, looking into his eyes as she brought her hand back up to grasp the end of his shirt and lifted her other hand.

Clothe tearing was heard and urged Sam to fight harder. Sarah made the incision in the fabric a little way up then grabbed hold of both sides and ripped the fabric until his shirt hung open. His chest was rising and falling quickly, he was panting and hatred radiated from him. Once again she put her hand to his chest and moved it, making circles and tracing the muscles in his torso.

"I wish we could have a little more time to ourselves but I'm on a bit of a schedule," she said, bringing her gaze back up to his face, catching his eyes with hers and making sure they would stay there. Her other hand went unnoticed as it drew back.

"I am sorry though…" and her whipped back to him, the blades angled upwards so they'd catch his flesh and tear as they moved but would not actually enter his body. "I'm sorry I won't get to hear you scream."

Dean's eyes squeezed shut, his breaths changed becoming more forced and ragged. His teeth clenched and he began to struggle again, trying to distance himself. The only result of his struggling was that his body shifted back and forth and Sarah rejoiced in the way his body came into contact with hers, leaving bloody smears across her clothing.

_Ah! God! Bitch I swear to god! I'm going to love sending your ass back to hell!!_

Sam's eyes quickly jerked up to Dean and his eyes widened at the display before him. Dean. Sarah. Blade. Blood.

Sam's mind screamed at his body and he felt something change. His anger and fear kept mounting as he saw Dean begin to still while Sarah probed at the wounds with the edge of the fork-like device.

Dean's chest would grow blessedly numb before pain would shoot back to him when Sarah would poke at the jagged edges of his wounded skin, smiling like the monsters who now stood quietly looking appreciatively at Sarah's work.

"So Sam, when are you going to make your move? Dean could probably use a little help here," she said, earning her a glare that would have killed anyone else on the spot. But she just sighed, "You know Sammy, I don't think you're even trying. Do you even really care about him?"

Sam could only see red as he saw Sarah move to strike again. This time the blade was moved slowly and with precision, catching skin and slowly forcing it open. She moved it first one way then another, allowing herself to literally carve Dean up.

Dean kept his jaw clenched as long as he could. He lasted a while too, his eyes and lips forced closed and kept there. But then the new carving met with the previous one and the blade snagged on the torn skin and dug deeper and he lost his hold on his features.

His eyes sprang open, his mouth opening at the same time and his head shooting up to settle against his arm. He pressed his head into the side of his arm to try to release some of his pain, his mouth open in what would have been a cry of agony but only came out as a breath.

His mind couldn't even form a coherent thought so Sam didn't receive anything like he had the last time. Dean's mind was whirling and everything was becoming one big bright, colourful mess. Spots began to appear, white and black flashing across his jumbled sight.

"Sammy! You better hurry up…I don't think he can hold out much longer. He looks about ready to collapse don't you think? He needs help…oh wait…where are you? Shouldn't you be helping him?"

Sam's anger reached a boiling point and like before something changed. The needle in the back of his neck began to move, sending pain shooting throughout his body coupled with a building pain in his head. Then the pain in his body disappeared, as did the presence of the needle as it flew up and hit the ceiling with so much force that it embedded itself in the concrete.

Sam could move finally, although his body was still slow to respond and it hurt to do so. Everything it had been through weighed heavily on his limbs and he doubted he could walk even without the damned pin. But Dean that was relying on him, and there were things no normal person could do that Sam could when it came to his brother.

So he slowly began to raise himself off the ground, slowly but frantically that is. He was uncoordinated and his arms would get tangled, his feet would trip over each other. Finally he got one knee under him and the other in font of him so he was kneeling. He used his arms to push himself out of that position and as he raised to his full height he once again caught sight of his target.

His target that was now hanging motionless, his head resting against his chest. Blood flowing down his chest painted over the normal tanned skin until you couldn't see it anymore.

_Dean…oh no…please be awake Dean! I can't be too late! Wake up big brother!_

Sam clumsily dragged his feet to his brother's body and Sarah backed away to enjoy the show. He had failed, she had almost thought he would make it when the pin had made it's exit. She almost wished he had, just to see the relief wash over him only to be stricken away when she would have gone back on her word.

He finally reached his brother and grabbed his face, lifting his chin from his mutilated chest. Looking into his face now he saw his brother's eyes closed, his breathing even although laboured and his skin pale. He was unconscious without question.

_No I can't be too late…Dean come on. Wake up man…we need to get out of here! I'm sorry I couldn't get here in time…but I'm here now so wake up and I'll get you down alright? Come on big brother! Dean!_

Again, nothing. Suddenly Sam felt himself being grabbed and the familiar knife fingers wrapped around his sluggish biceps. Being torn away from his brother after being so close ripped Sam apart and he struggled wildly, even just to have a moment more of contact, he would take it.

As if cruelly taunting him Dean's eyes started to move beneath the lids. He returned to consciousness with a jolt when he caught sight of one of Sam's legs flung into his field of vision momentarily. Ignoring the sudden return of agony he lifted his head to see his brother red faced and fighting as he was being dragged back to his own chains.

_S-sam…Sam! _They might have been thoughts, but they sounded weak to both of the boys. _L-let go of him! Don't touch my brother you freaks!_

Sam heard Dean's anger and fear, could sense his weakness and fought with everything he had. Sarah had been following at a safe distance from Sam's flying legs but when she saw Sam's sudden urgency she glanced back to Dean and saw he was awake.

She quickly returned to Dean and grabbed his face so that his neck wouldn't have to hold it. He was still weak from his fainting and couldn't hold his head up for long quite yet. She made sure he could watch his brother as they finally got him back to his position and lifted him from the ground.

Sam's hopes of freeing himself quickly disappeared when his feet left the floor and his writs were once again forced into the cuffs attached to the ceiling. His arms were now bleeding and slight pains shivered up and down his arms into his shoulders from the strain and cuts.

He continued to move, maybe something in the ceiling would come loose if he kept it up long enough. The Gentlemen retreated from him and approached Sarah who was standing in her favoured position between the siblings. They reached her, positioned themselves behind her and stilled.

"You know, these gentlemen have been very generous in doing all of this work for me with you boys. It's only fair that they get some kind of payment. And I think I know exactly what I should give them."

Sarah moved to a table that was against the wall on the side of the room across from the stairs. It had a cover on it but there was clearly items lying beneath it. She reached the table, grabbed hold of the white cover, looked up at her victims, smiled and pulled.

Eight containers lay on the table, seven larger ones and one smaller one. The smaller one was a box, covered in old hieroglyphs and banded with gold. The other seven containers were glass jars with secure lids, and lying in all but one of them was a human heart. The very ones that Sam had seen removed from the two victims two nights ago (or what he assumed was two nights ago but neither really knew now long they'd been chained for) and the others from the nights before and after that one.

Only on jar lay empty and both of the boys looked at it, unwilling to gaze at the life organs lying in the jars around it. Their stomachs dropped as they both realized what Sarah was planning and their eyes sought each other out.

Once again the brothers had brief contact and an understanding flowed through them. They both knew what was going to happen, they just didn't know who to. Dean was so disoriented he couldn't even mask his fear for his brother and Sam read it in his eyes easily. Sam allowed his own fears to show as well but soon covered them again as motion began around them.

Six of the gentlemen moved to the table and carefully picked up a jar, all of them now possessing a heart. Sarah stood until they had received all of their items before picking up the empty jar and sauntering over to the gentlemen who hadn't moved, coincidentally the leader.

Each step she took carried a bounce to it that sickened the boys, the thought of her looking forward to this made them sick to their stomachs. Anger would have been boiling again if not for the fear that was keeping their tempers in check.

Sarah gave the jar over to the leader who took it and smiled at her generously. He then moved to the bag that still lay on the floor and bent to reach inside. When he straightened again he held the jar in one hand and a scalpel in the other.

Sam's eyes widened suspecting who it was meant for but not yet willing to believe it until there was proof.

_Please…please let it be me…_

But things were never that easy for the youngest Winchester and he could only let out a silent sob of anguish and defeat as the tallest form moved in the direction of his incapacitated brother.

The elder started to struggle again, not quite as weak as he was before and relying on a chance that maybe something would come loose. Nothing did and he felt defeat begin to wash over him. He looked from the scalpel, to the smiling face of his would-be killer, to the woman his brother loved, then to the brother he loved more than anything in the world.

He sadly shook his head, signifying his failed attempts at escape. But Sam's pleading eyes, those damn puppy eyes of his, urged Dean to continue, even if there was the slightest inkling of a chance. So Dean did, knowing it was futile but willing to do it for his Sammy, he didn't feel much like dying without fighting anyways. Then again he didn't feel much like dying period, there was so much to say and so little time to say it. But then he thanked the Shining for even allowing him to be able to say anything right now.

_Sammy. Listen to me, I'm sorry about all of this. I couldn't stop them from killing those people, I couldn't stop them from taking me, and I couldn't stop them from taking you. It's over for me…but I need you to promise that you will keep fighting, don't just give up. If these freaky sons of bitches take me don't let them have you too, that's giving them way more than they would ever deserve. This may be the last chance I get to say this…so…I'm going to just say it. Sam...me and Dad…we were always so proud of you…he loved you so much. And…I know we don't say it…at all…but I need you to know…that…I love you. I love you little brother more than anything and everything…please understand and don't blame yourself for any of this You don't deserve this and it kills me to know that this is happening to you._

By this time Dean was only making a minimal effort to move as he was completely focused on his brother, he didn't even notice the figure slowly approaching him, twisting the scalpel between it's fingers. Sam was staring at his brother, his breaths quick and his face masked with fear and anguish. Slowly a tear fell from his sensitive eyes, tracking through the sweat on his skin.

He had always wanted, on some level, to hear his brother say that he loved him. But he didn't want it like this and now he wished he'd never heard it, it being spoken only sealed his brother's fate.

_Dean…no…don't give up…_

The gentleman was now right in front of Dean and slowly eying a good place to start his incision. He finally found his starting line and lifted his hand as if in slow motion.

_No please big brother…I need you here…with me!_

The arm came up higher, passing the damaged flesh.

_I've lost everyone…I can't lose you too!_

The hand stopped just above the wounded flesh and stilled there for a moment.

…_please…_

The hand inched forward until the blade lay on Dean's skin.

_No…Dean!_

Slight pressure was applied and Dean flinched in anticipation.

_Dean!!_

Again the elder flinched as the blade broke the skin and rested for a second.

_DEAN!_

Dean's eyes looked directly into his brother's, regret filling the green.

_Sammy…close your eyes. Don't watch this little brother._

Sam was now openly crying and that message sent him over the edge. His mouth formed screams for his brother, anguished cries that broke Dean's heart. The older sibling wished his brother would close his eyes and look away, he couldn't bear the thought of his baby brother witnessing his death. But he knew Sam wouldn't look away.

_DEAN! NO!!! DEAN!!!_

The blade slowly started to move down, at first without pressure but as it slid further down, slight pressure was added and soon Dean's eyes were closed and squeezed shut.

_I'm so sorry baby brother._

_NOOO!!!!! DE-_

"DEAN!!!!!!!!!"


	14. Saved?

Chapter 14: Saved?

Part 1

The sound was deafening and everything immediately stilled. The blade stopped moving and every eye moved towards the young man strung from the ceiling looking completely distraught. Dean's eyes met with his brother's and they shared a look that clearly spelled out 'what the hell?'.

Slowly the seven sets of dead eyes lying in the ghost white faces of murderers morphed into fear. All of a sudden the jars were dropped, shattering glass flying across the floor and once again deafening sounds after so much silence. Their hands went to their heads and their heads started shaking wildly, being thrown back and forth and left and right.

Sarah looked fearful for a moment as if lost as to what was going on, then her face changed into one of amusement and accomplishment that went completely unnoticed by the two hunters. Their attention was fixed on the creatures and their meltdowns.

All of a sudden the heads stopped moving and the arms went to their sides. Their smiles changed for the first time into grimaces of pain and horror before there was instantly no faces. There was nothing to signify that there had ever been a head at the top of their necks except for the spray of green that told the story of what had happened.

Thankfully all of the brain and head matter missed the boys and landed across the nearest walls, floor and ceiling. Surprisingly even Dean had been spared the mess, it seemed the gentlemen before him had backed up several feet in shock before his head exploded. Sarah on the other hand had a nice large glob of puke green sliding down her face.

She reached up and wiped it off with a grimace before flicking it onto the floor. She looked back to the men who were now looking at each other in awe. Sam was amazed Dean was still alive and Dean was completely dumbstruck by the fact that his brother just miraculously got his voice back.

"Dean?…What the hell?" Sam asked, looking confused as hell. Dean couldn't say anything so he just shrugged his shoulders.

_I have no clue kiddo…ask your girlfriend over there what the hell just happened, not me._

"Dean…she is not my girlfriend." Sam said, rolling his eyes before figuring that that probably wasn't such a bad idea. He had also just been pleasantly surprised to find out that he could still hear Dean and not Dean could hear him. A rather large weight seemed to lift off of both their chests and Dean had never heard anything so good in his life.

"Well Sam I see you've miraculously recovered," Sarah said as she approached him with a genuine smile on her face. It was going to be much more interesting now and suddenly, just like the boys, a huge weight lifted off her chest done.

_Mission complete_ She thought to herself. _The boss is going to be very pleased with you Sammy boy, but most importantly, with me._

She was smiling because now she wasn't going to die a nice painful death, she had succeeded and got what she needed. Her father would probably even reward her somehow, this test had gone according to plan and without a hitch. Now…now she could get what she wanted seeing as how her obligations were out of the way.

She licked her lips in anticipation and reached out to touch the hunter in front of her. Somewhere in the back of her mind she could feel something screaming at her to leave him alone but she pushed at it with her mind and the voice faded into a pain filled cry and Sarah was once again silent.

She extended her hand and touched his chest, sliding it up and along his neck to his face which she cupped in her hand, drawing his full attention. "Sam, do you have any idea how much I want you? I don't know why but there's something about you that gals just can't resist. Not to mention demons such as myself. So that mounted on the fact that Sarah really does want you makes it almost impossible for me not to take you."

Sam flinched when she touched his face, then his stomach sickened when he heard her words taunting him. This wasn't looking so good and he wasn't sure he wanted to travel down this road. His anger spiked when it spoke of Sarah and he gave her a glare that could strip paint.

"Yeah? Well maybe when Sarah's home we'll have a talk about that. Until then I think you really need to stop touching me. I might decide you need to leave and if you make me angry god knows what I'll do." His words dripped with venom and hate.

"Oh baby, Sarah is home, believe me she's right here. In fact if you leave a message I'll be sure she gets it, hell she may even enjoy the show we could put on."

Sam's eyes darkened considerably when his theory of Sarah being awake was confirmed. "Let her go. Then maybe you and I can talk."

"Hm…I don't think so. I rather like this shell, it's obvious it likes you and even more obvious that you like it. I really don't see the problem, you're here, and Sarah's here…somewhere. So what's the problem then?"

Sam didn't answer, he didn't really feel like talking to this thing if it wasn't going to get him anywhere.

_Sam…don't look, just listen. Keep her preoccupied…I just felt something give in my chains. I think I'm almost loose._

Sam just blinked twice in response. Simple code, once for no, twice for yes. It looked like he would have to humour her for a little while.

"What's the problem? Well I guess if I really think about it there isn't one. But you see I'm kinda shy…and I have this thing with privacy. But hell, for you? I guess I could wave it."

Sarah smiled mischievously, her hunger growing. She wanted to unchain him, lay him out on the floor, and take him. She had wanted to since she'd met him face to face in Indiana on the side of the road. Sure she had acted surprised at the time, she'd known that he'd be there, but she was damned surprised when she'd finally seen him. He was all she'd hoped for and a hell of a lot more.

But she would have to settle for kinky bondage instead, not that she wasn't looking forward to it. She walked closer to him, pressing into him, her smile increasing into a devilish, possessive grin. One that spoke of lust and excitement.

Sam continued to play his part, to distract her, so he smiled in the same fashion, though it never met his eyes. Anyone who knew him would see the disgust and hate at his situation in the deep hazel of his eyes. The demon within Sarah was too blinded by her need to see much of anything but the man before her.

She reached forward, placing her hand on his chest and bringing it first up to his neck where she traced his jaw line then down over his stomach to where the t-shirt ended. Because his arms were straight above him, his shirt ended a few inches shy of his waistband and she gladly traced her hand down his exposed flesh. His skin rippled just as his brother's had before and Sam struggled to keep his mask on.

"You know, Jess was a very lucky girl. I see why she'd want to be with you…why Sarah wants to be with you. And now I guess she can…and so can I." And with those words she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him.

He flinched as her lips met his, but he had a job to do now and he could only secretly thank the fact that he was a high school drama geek. He kissed her back after a moments hesitation, trying to convey his need for the real Sarah through his touch. The kiss deepened, her weight on his body increased as she leaned in more. Their mouths worked simultaneously, pressure transferring back and forth and breaths coming short.

_That's it Sammy, just keep her attention on you._ Sam heard the thought and would have glared at the double meaning if his eyes weren't closed and if he wasn't so enthralled in his role. He ignored the thought from his brother and only assumed that Dean was appreciating what Sam was doing for him. At least he'd better be appreciating it.

Sarah was itching to loosen his chains, her fingers were tightly entwined in his hair and in his collar, if they weren't then they'd be breaking the locks. She knew she'd get in trouble if she let him go, but then again she would already get in trouble for doing this. What was another infraction?

The hand at his collar lifted off of his shirt and reached above both of their heads, her kiss never wavering and her body working in rhythmic motions with his. As her fingers met the cool metal of a lock, she tightened her grip around it until she felt it splinter in her palm and his weight shifted.

Sam hadn't been prepared for the change, his mind was focused on her and his body was aware of nothing but hers. When his arms suddenly came down around him and his feet hit the floor, his legs gave out and he ended up on his knees. Sarah followed him all the way down and when he was seated on the floor, his weight resting on his heels, she sat on his lap.

Dean stopped his painful tinkering when he saw Sam's chains empty, his brother on the floor wrapped in a women's legs and arms. He frowned, _Damn, so all I had to do to get free was let her come on to me? Come on! What the hell man…_

Sam heard his brother's complaint and, despite his pain, despite the fact that he had a demon on him, he smiled. His brother's comment hit a cord with Sam and soon Sam was outright laughing although it was muffled by Sarah's lips.

She pulled back slightly and looked at him like he'd gone crazy, worried about why he was laughing. There was nothing funny about this. This was all serious, and if he didn't stop soon she'd have to make him stop, she didn't have enough time for his hysterics when she only had a limited time with him. She wanted to know what Jess had known, before her father had killed her anyways. She wanted Sarah to know what she was missing, and she was guessing that it was going to be something she wished she hadn't missed.

Sam realized that he was making a mistake and so he looked her in the eyes, which were clear and not black. Sam thanked that fact, he didn't think he'd be able to keep this charade going with a demon's eyes staring into him. He quickly stopped laughing and let his smile turn into something sultry to draw her in.

It worked a little too well and he soon found himself smothered by her, not even able to draw a full breath before she stole it away. He opened his eyes to get a look at his brother who was still hanging from the ceiling looking at them, and not in a very happy kind of way. He gave Dean a look as his brother's eyes met him and tried to convey this thought when he did.

_You perv! Get back to struggling freak, god Dean! I'm not doing this for no reason…_

Dean seemed to get the point, he gave Sam a smirk and shook his head before continuing his struggle. Sam turned his attention back on the demon straddling him and worked over the pit in his stomach to kiss her back. His body worked with hers, although like before it didn't feel right.

She was loosing whatever control she had on the hunger that was building inside her, and demon's could be dangerous when unleashed like that. Not to mention, oh so very bad. She reached her hands to down his back, finding the hem of his shirt and pulling at it. Bringing it up her fingers brushed the bandage on his back knowing that she would just aggravate it if she made him raise his arms, she didn't want him weak from blood loss write now. There would be time for that later.

So instead she settled for finding a the tear in the back of his shirt where the knife had been and wrapped her fingers into it. She pulled and the sound of tearing fabric filled her ears for the second time today but this time it was even better. His shirt continued to rip and she quickly drew it off of his shoulders and over his arms.

She tossed it behind her and brought her hands back to him, exploring his shoulders and back as she did. She ran her hands along his arms and up his neck into his hair. Then all of a sudden she felt a tug and she couldn't feel him anymore, she was sitting in a black wasteland. She realized her situation and let loose a scream of frustration.

_Bitch! I was just getting to the good part! You're gonna pay for that!_

Part 2

Sam felt her hands on him and his skin shivered when his shirt was taken. He was losing his control as well, just his control was keeping himself from throwing her off of him and getting as far from her as possible. He wasn't going to admit it to anyone but this was making his heart ache.

Suddenly he felt her flinch and hesitate, her mouth leaving his and she stilled. She barely even breathed, and Sam held his breath out of fear of what was coming. Then he felt a shiver run through her body, no…not a shiver, a sob? He peered at her face that was bent downward, hiding her eyes from his.

His eyes widened as they tracked the tear running down her cheek. He lifted his hand, hesitatingly and put it beneath her chin. He lifted her face up and his breath caught as she finally lifted his gaze to his. Her stunning green eyes were filled with tears and sparkled in the light of the room.

"Sarah?" he whispered. He didn't want to get his hopes up, it may not be her. He held her gaze and in the background he saw Dean still once again having heard his brother's whisper.

She drew a quick breath, trying to compose herself. "Sam…oh god I'm so sorry." And she lost it, tears streamed down her face and she sobbed softly with her arms wrapped around him still. He lifted his other hand to stroke her face and he bowed his head forward, resting his forehead against hers.

He breathed a sigh of relief that she was ok, for now anyways. He knew it was her, things felt different right now, felt right like they had before. He let a tear of his own slip as he held her and pulled her to him closely, clinging to the time they had together before she'd be gone again.

"Sarah, I'm going to save you…I promise. I won't let her hurt you…just hold on for me. Wait for me." He whispered to her, his eyes closed. Her head lifted from his and she looked him in the face.

"Sam, I'll always wait for you. Don't worry, I won't let her hurt you either…I'll save you from her. We'll make it through this I promise." And that was Sam's undoing, he let out a soft sob and pulled her forward to him.

This time when their lips met, it was a spark that travelled through them, keeping them alive. It was tender and loving, everything they felt for each other in a simple gesture. They broke the kiss and he held her head to his chest tightly and put his lips to the top of her head. He was clinging to her, and she to him, with everything they had.

She gasped and pulled from him softly. "Sam, she's coming back. I can't hold her anymore…I'm sorry." Sarah whispered to him brokenly.

He gave her a sad smile. "Don't be, like you said, we'll be ok. We'll save each other and make it out." He told her with his confidence soaring. He was going to save her, there was no doubt in his mind. Now that he knew she was there for him, he was going to be there for her.

Before he lost the chance he kissed her softly one more time before repeating what he'd said earlier to her. "I love you Sarah." She looked at him, tears still softly running down her rosy cheeks, and smiled softly.

"I love you too Sa-" but before she had a chance to finish she felt herself being tugged from him and looked at him panicked before she was once again sitting in the wasteland. She sat on the floor silently sobbing to herself, she had been so close to him, only to lose him again.

The visions of what the demon had been forcing her to do were building in her mind and she shook more uncontrollably as the tears ran down her skin. She barely noticed the angry footsteps behind her but when they circled to appear in front of her and then someone's face was in her field of vision.

Kneeling in front of her the slender woman with short blonde hair sneered at her angrily. The demon grabbed hold of her face harshly, pinching her chin to make her look straight in the face of her oppressor.

"You know, I was being nice to him. Why does he like you so much anyways? I saw him first you know, and I will have him. As soon as my father wins him, he's promised Sam to me. Sorry sweetie, looks like there's no room for you."

Sarah's eyes hardened and she spat in the demon's face in disgust. That earned her a sharp slap that left a stinging red hand print on her fair skin.

"Now that's just gross. And rude…I'm still waiting to see what it is that Sam sees in you." And at that she turned on her heel and walked off, slowly fading from existence and taking any light with her. She disappeared, but not before leaving a message that chilled Sarah to the core.

"Now watch what happens to lover boy when you piss me off."

Sam sat still on the ground, Sarah still firmly held in his arms. He didn't want to let go of her, but when her eyes went blank and he knew she wasn't there anymore he also knew that this was their chance. So he squeezed her to him and kissed her forehead.

"I will save you Sarah, and I'm sorry that this happened." He whispered to her. He reluctantly loosened his arms and let her go, pushing her off of his lap carefully so that he wouldn't hurt her at all. When he was clear of her weight he slowly brought his knee up so that he was half crouching, half kneeling and began to stand shakily.

Sarah's body remained seated on the floor, not moving and unresponsive. Her eyes told that currently there was no one there. Sam finally got to his feet and winced as he straightened and his stitches pulled. He gave her one last glance before looking away and shaking his head shamefully. Then he slowly started moving.

He made his way over to Dean who still hadn't moved. He was staring at his brother with sympathy although he knew that Sam would hate that look, hell even he hated that look. Stumbling only a few times Sam managed to make it to his brother.

"I thought you were trying to get out…not watching us like some freaky perv there Dean." he muttered breathlessly but let a small smile creep onto his face.

_Yah well if you hadn't been making out with hot-for-you demon bitch over there I would have been more inclined to try to save your sorry ass. _Dean thought, all smirk and no shame.

Sam just rolled his eyes at him and started examining the locks above their heads to try to find a way out of this. It was like a padlock, but I little more complex. Luckily though, with the training they had received, they knew a whole bunch of locks and a whole bunch of ways to pick them.

"Hey I'm gonna find something to try to get these locks open. Maybe those needles will work…" Sam stated quietly and turned from Dean in search of that little black bag they hated so much. It was where it always was, middle of the room on the floor.

He made his way over to it and when he crouched to get the bag he accidentally lost his balance and ended up falling, once again bruising his knees for the hundredth time. He winced as his back was jarred and the stitches reacted, and his knees really were getting sore.

_Hey you alright there Sammy? Man that girl sure did a number on you didn't she. _Dean snarked, although Sam could detect the concern behind the thought. Sam grabbed the bag and made his way back to his brother after picking himself up off the floor.

"Yeah? Well I'm not the one that got carved like the thanksgiving turkey." Sam shot back. Dean just huffed for a moment but he couldn't hide the amusement from Sam that flashed across his face. Dean really didn't look too good though. None of the cuts were very deep but they were enough to do damage to Dean's system and weaken him.

Sam looked through the bag and found the needles, but getting a good look at them he realized they were much to thin and weak to pick a lock. So he continued to rummage, unconsciously swaying slightly every now and then. Dean watched his brother's every move, not wanting any surprises on how Sam really was.

Finally Sam smiled slightly and lifted two syringes out of the bag. He could only assume that they had been getting to the part where they were used on the boys. Either that or they were the needles that were already used on them to knock them out during the kidnappings.

He shot a look over his shoulder at the still kneeling Sarah, she was staring off into space with a blank expression on her face. Sam figured it was safe to continue as long as she continued to look like a zombie. He quickly dropped the bag and began to tinker with the syringes and the locks trying to find a way to get them open.

His arm was in Dean's face making it impossible for him to see anything beyond his brother's skin. It also made it impossible for either man to notice as Sarah's hand moved behind her and drew something from the waist band of her jeans.

Sam continued to tinker and her knew he was almost there, he almost had the locks opened. Dean was looking up at the locks his brother was working on but he brought his gaze down slightly to get a reading on his brother. He could of sworn he saw someone move behind Sam.

_Sammy look out!_ But before Dean had a chance to see what was going to happen his locks opened and his feet connected with the floor. He was, however, prepared for the weight shift having been waiting for it. What he wasn't ready for was his brother's weight to crash into him. He also wasn't anywhere near ready to hear the scream that erupted from Sam.

Part 3

Dean desperately tried to catch Sam and keep him upright, but Sam's legs had given out and so did Dean's. Sarah stood behind Sam with that blade in her hands, the one stained with Dean's blood and now Sam's. She was smiling down at him cruelly; revelling in the anguish she had cause in both men. It drove her, gave her the strength she needed to keep Sarah at bay while she watched as the demon tortured the man she loved.

Dean eased Sam as softly as he could to the ground and had his arms around his brother with his hands resting on his back and on his head. When they were seated on the ground, Sam panting wildly, he withdrew his hand and saw it coated in red. His eyes widened and he quickly looked back up at the demon then looked over his brother's head to see his back.

The previous stab wound was once again bleeding but had changed in shape and size, much more jagged and larger. He looked from the ugly wound to the hand holding the blade and his face twisted into a hate filled snarl. Loathing everything about her, Dean got to his feet while Sam cradled his side in his hands, unwilling to touch the wound on his back and continued to try to breath through his pain.

Sarah looked down on Sam, amused but regretful. She really hadn't wanted to do that without going a little further in their actions earlier. It would have happened eventually, she was told to cause pain and that's what she was doing, so it was either now or later. Either way, he was going to know pain.

Dean stared down at Sam as well, blinded by the red running down his brother's side and staining his already bloody clothes. Being shirtless, Dean had a nice clear view of the damage and it made his blood boil.

Sarah finally looked up to the now standing Dean. He was staring at his brother, his own bleeding chest heaving in anger. As she searched his face for his emotions his eyes closed momentarily and when they were opened he was looking at her. His face was dark and the scowl and hatred on it was more than obvious.

Again the demon found herself intimidated and she stepped back ever so slightly, afraid of the anger that was waiting to be unleashed. She knew all about Dean's temper when she had been tied to that chair, he had broken his word in anger towards her threatening his father. Then she remembered what her father had done to his and couldn't help but have her confidence restored.

_The Mighty John Winchester fell by a demon, what will be so different about the Mighty Dean? _And she smirked. His eyes remained on her unblinking, unmoving, just staring. It then became a battle of wits as she returned his action and sent out her own rage to him. What he had done to her, how he had gotten in the way, all of her pent up rage burned through her own eyes and mingled with his.

They stayed that way for a few minutes before Sam finally got himself under enough control to lift his head from the floor where he had rested it while kneeling in pain. He looked up at the battle before him and couldn't help but shiver. Could two beings hate each other that much? Was it even possible? I mean sure there was a good reason why Dean hated her, but why was this demon so intent on hurting them and why would she hate Dean so much?

Finally he found his voice, the one he'd been missing for several days. "Who are you?" he managed to squeeze out through clenched teeth, his eyes squinting up into her face. Black eyes finally broke contact from green and met hazel.

Her look changed to menacing and possessive again, lust and knowing settling around the edges of the blown pupils. "You don't recognize me Sam? I have to say I'm offended, after everything we had shared together and you can't remember me. I have to admit I look different now, I couldn't return to my last shell because someone managed to kill it." as she said the last bit her eyes shot accusingly to Dean's.

Sam then understood it all, everything about what she had said earlier, the small sense of familiarity he had had with this demon as soon as it had entered. The pit in his stomach from before gained mass and his throat constricted painfully. It also explained her hatred for Dean, and that was not a good thing…far from it in fact.

"Meg." Sam spat out, not as a question, but as a fact. She only smiled at him and then looked back at Dean wearing a scowl and accusing once again. "Not anymore," she said confidently.

Dean looked down at his brother, looking for complete confirmation that they both now understood the 'why's' of their situation. Sam simply met his brother's gaze hopelessly, and Dean knew for sure. This set his resolve in stone, he wasn't going to let this bitch have his brother, she had already demonstrated what would happen to him if she got her hands on Sam. Literally.

So instead Dean laughed, a cold and bitter sound. "Well darlin', you definitely look better than the last time we saw you. I'd say brunette is definitely more flattering, although dumb-blonde suits you more." he chuckled again. His cockiness and self-inflation shining through brilliantly.

She smiled slightly, opened her mouth and said what Dean had been told once before. "Monologuing Dean? That's right Dean, mask all that nasty pain, mask the truth." And then she sneered at him, knowing what would come next.

Dean's smirk faltered as memories rushed back to him, drowning his mind. The demon, the cabin, Sam, the colt, his father. And he went over the edge, his face a mask of anger, his pain forgotten as he lunged forward and knocked Sarah to the ground.

Sam watched it happen and knew he'd have to stop it, he couldn't let the demon hurt his brother and he couldn't let his brother hurt Sarah. Sam struggled weakly to sit up fully and then crawled over to where his brother and the demon were tangled on the floor.

Dean felt a mean right hook smack his jaw but it was also forgotten when he managed to grab hold of the throat of the woman under him. He began choking, his body detached from his conscience, and he cruelly glared into the eyes of the demon.

Meg simply smiled as she felt Sarah being strangled, it wouldn't kill her, knock her unconscious yes, but kill her? No. It would however kill Sarah, which would in turn hurt Sam which would then hurt Dean. Like one line of dominoes everything was falling together perfectly. There were two ways this scenario could play out and either one worked for her.

One way was that Dean strangled her, she left Sarah and the girl died. The other was that Sammy would come to Sarah's rescue, possibly injuring Dean in the process. That thought made her grin evilly, confusing her opponent but not stopping his attack, If Dean was stopped then she'd have control o everything again, although she wasn't lacking control right now at all.

Sam saw as Dean wrapped his hands around Sarah's throat, blocking her airways and slowly killing her. His eyes widened, in his weakened state he wasn't sure he'd be able to save her or get through to Dean. He was moving, not very quickly though and every moment seemed like eternity. Finally he reached them as Sarah's eyes began to close and the grip she'd had on Dean's forearms weakened.

"Dean! Stop! Please you're killing her!" Sam cried desperately to his brother. At first Dean just looked at him, his anger making him look wild.

Dean looked back to Sarah under him as her arms lost hold and her eyes began to roll in their sockets. He then returned his gaze up to Sam, reading the pain in his face and the fear. Desperation stared at him through the big puppy dog eyes and his anger was broken by the brother inside of him, the caring human being that he was winning over the monster that lay inside of everyone.

_Oh god,_ He thought as he quickly removed his hands and heard the large gasp taken in by his victim. _Oh god Sammy…I'm sorry…I don't….I didn't mean…forgive me?_

It was a plea from a distraught man that made Sam's heart ache. He could only nod and offer a small smile as thanks as relief washed through him when Sarah began to breath again. He lifted his hand slowly and put it on Dean's shoulder, giving it a weak squeeze.

Then he felt himself lean to the side and heard a distant thud, his body shook on impact. Suddenly there was no pain, no fear, no anguish. Nothing. Just black and then he lost awareness. Dean looked up at Sam just in time to see him fall sideways and as his head struck the floor his eyes slid shut and he didn't move again. Dean's eyes widened as if to make up for the lack of Sam's and he quickly pulled himself off of the demon that was coming back to full awareness.

He held Sam's head carefully in his hands and used his thumb to crack an eyelid to make sure Sam was responsive while checking his pulse with his other hand. His pulse was there, not exactly strong but there, and also his eyes reacted to the light so Dean let Sam rest. He leaned down closer to his brother ad closed his eyes while resting his chin on Sam's head.

He sent out a silent apology once again and then kissed the top of his brother's head.


	15. Revealed

Chapter 15: Revealed

Part 1

'Meg' was content with the way things were going. The men were both bound once more, although Sam was now bound on the floor so as not to put stress on his back. She sighed when she knew she'd have to stitch him up again to keep his blood loss to a minimum. But then she brightened when the prospect of what that would allow her to do, the less the blood loss, the more he stays awake, and the more pain he'll experience.

She looked over at Dean who was once again hanging from his chains. She had knocked him unconscious from behind and then re-shackled him to the ceiling. He wasn't awake yet but she could see him coming around as soft groans were heard coming from him. She grinned evilly knowing the head ache he'd have when he woke up.

His chest had not stopped bleeding but it was down to a slow ooze which meant that whatever damage had been done was not too bad and he'd most definitely live. Well for now anyway; she wasn't sure exactly what it was her father wanted from the old brother. He was more or less a mystery to them; all they knew was that he was strong willed and possibly the only thing keeping his little brother grounded. But when the demons had thought beyond that they realized that it was exactly the same in the other brother.

So everyone knew that the best way to get to them was through each other. 'Meg' knew how much communication meant, not only in their line of work, but to the brother's themselves. That's why she had chosen those creatures; also because she knew the kinds of hearts the beasts would need and it was the kind that both brother's wielded so well against them, too well in fact.

She smiled again when she saw Dean's head jerk up and down in waking. His eyes slowly opened and he raised the head that now felt like it weighed a tonne, grimacing when the room spun before his eyes. It felt like it was about to split open, the welt in the back of his cranium throbbing relentlessly. He looked around, seeing Sarah/Meg in the middle of the room and behind her, lying on the floor, out cold, his brother. He had thick ropes around his ankles and cuffs on his writs that were behind his back. His gaze shifted to the small, and thankfully, not growing, pool of blood beneath his brother. Then he switched his attention back to the demon in front of him and he sneered in hatred while trying to say words that definitely shouldn't be said in the presence of a woman.

She just smiled sweetly, taunting him in his silence and inability to insult her. Then she walked towards him and he stopped moving his mouth, instead letting his lips form a thin line. She looked at him with false concern but very real pity , and he hated her for that alone.

"So Dean, still being a Smartass even when no one can hear you. Wondering why you can't talk yet? I bet it's killing you that your kid brother was able to break the spell and you weren't…I guess he's just more special than you are." She sneered at him. Her words weren't meant to sting so much as they were meant to irritate. And she could see that she was doing a good job; because he wasn't able to talk he had no way of defending himself from her insults. No Smartass comebacks or sarcasm available to him.

Instead his face just turned a slight shade of red, but he held his tongue. He wasn't willing to give her the satisfaction of losing it, that's exactly what she wanted and he'd be damned before he gave into her. If he did, what kind of example would that set for his little brother. Sam had always been that damn monkey: monkey see, monkey do. How else had he managed to grow up to be as awesome as his brother. _Well almost as awesome._ Dean thought with a smirk.

"Well, do you know why? I bet you don't….Sam was always the smarter one. I'll bet he knows, oh but he can't tell you right now can he? It's just you and me, we're all alone. I've been waiting to get back here you know, on this earth. Hell, well hell's no fun…and I hated going back there." The sneer on her face grew to one of hatred and anger, her black eyes glittering dangerously. "You sent me back, after I had done everything you asked me to. You broke your deal, in my opinion…you're no better than me. You lied, you cheated and you killed that poor girl. What did you tell the cops about that by the way…I've always been curious about that. And her family? I mean, her family had been looking for her the whole time she had been gone. Did they find out that their little girl was murdered?"

Dean kept silent, like he had a choice, his face stoic. Inside though there was a raging inferno of emotion. A myriad of everything mixed at once and he was worried he wouldn't be able to hold for long. Right now he was like a dam with a crack in it, the pressure of the water slowly building, the crack slowly spreading until it gave way, and the water poured out. If Sam would just wake up then he would have someone there to help him with it, but like so many times in his life, he was alone. His father and mother were gone, his brother was here in body, but missing in mind.

He was losing his battle and he knew it. And he guessed by the way she continued, so did she. She continued her tirade, breaking him down, the growing emotion in his eyes betraying his face. He was starting to look dazed, as if it was too much for him to take. She knew he'd break soon and it excited her to no end. Only a little more and he'd go off the deep end, and she knew exactly where to go to make that happen.

"It's a shame the mighty John Winchester gave up his life to save someone as pathetically lost as you. The world would probably be better off if he had lived and you had died, at least then there would be one less monster in this world. But instead a 'hero' gave up his soul, went to hell, in order to save a coward. Everyone knows it should have been you Dean. You know it, your dad knew it, and Sammy knows it too. You should be dead, what is that, the second time now? So I guess your body count keeps rising…it's like four people now isn't it? Meg, John, that guy in the alley and let's not forget sweet Layla…that poor girl was so misguided in forgiving you."

Dean was now hanging by a thread and each fibre of that thread was snapping with every word spoken. He needed a release, he needed a savoir right now but he knew no one was going to rescue him. He would be left to fall off this cliff and no one would care. He was at the point where he wanted to fall, he knew the things she was saying were meant to hurt him, but he couldn't help the agreement he felt in his heart. As his last cry for help, unable to use his voice, a tear fell down his face. It's path leaving a lifetime of pain and guilt that he was no longer able to deny. As he stared off into space, detaching from his mind, his heart made that one last attempt for forgiveness.

He never believed it would be answered. But it was, the one thing he needed more than anything in this world was given to him as a simple sentence was spoken in an all to familiar voice.

"Don't believe a word she's saying Dean." The voice said to him, it's tone soothing his broken mind and making his heart beat strongly. His eyes became downcast, not wanting to look at the speaker, he feared it was all an illusion. That voice was much too strong, it shouldn't be that strong after everything that happened. It should be broken and disappointed, disappointed that Dean had failed it. He couldn't face it, it must all be a figment of his imagination, his mind playing tricks, creating what it was he needed. But somehow he knew it wasn't, he had always trusted that voice, always would, as much as it pissed him off at times.

But he had also always obeyed that voice. "Son, look at me." And Dean obeyed, like he always had; like he always would.

Part 2

He had had enough, no more taking orders, not when he could do something. _I can't believe I'm starting to act like my sons…_ Even if it cost him, he wouldn't let this happen. He had stood by long enough, long enough to see his sons tortured, and long enough to see them breaking. It killed him to know that he had known this would happen, that he had allowed it to go this far. But he couldn't do it anymore, they meant too much to him and he didn't care what his disobedience would bring upon him.

So John walked forward, confident and strong. He couldn't allow his fear to show when his son would be able to see it. And especially the demon in the room with him. She looked at him, shocked, yet somehow satisfied. He knew why, he was going to get in a lot of trouble for this, who knows what they'd do to him. But watching this happen was far worse than any pain they could inflict

He spared a glance at his youngest lying bound and broken on the floor. His eyes portrayed a deep sadness towards his boy. He wished to god that someone else had been chosen, that his son never had to go through what he'd been through. But deep down he knew that if anyone could make it through that kind of life, it would be his Sam. His son was the strongest person he knew or ever would know.

He switched his attention back to his eldest who was now staring at him like he thought he was all in his head. But when 'Meg' turned from Dean and strode up to John while pointing an angry finger at him, something in Dean clicked and he realized his father was truly here, saving him. As much as he wanted to cry, he couldn't, he was too ecstatically happy. His father was…alive? And everything the demon had said to him melted from his memories. His pain left him in a moment of clarity and he smiled disbelievingly.

John looked past the demon in front of him now and saw his son smiling, looking suddenly so young. He looked like he had when he was younger and John would get back from a hunt after being gone for so long. The greeting had always broken through the clouds and darkness in John's being and made his world brighter.

He smiled back at Dean, this was a time when he needed to be open with his son, strong but open. He nodded at his son and then fixed his attention on the now very close demon in front of him.

"You…you were not supposed to interfere." She jabbed her finger at him. "I thought we gave you an order. Didn't you learn the first time that when we give orders, you follow them." She sneered. "And I'm sure you remember what happens when you don't. Consider yourself lucky my father likes you so much. Otherwise he wouldn't have kept you around, he would have sent your sorry ass to hell. To be with your wife."

John let it roll off his back, he had already endured pretty much every insult known to man, and demon it would seem. He'd grown a resistance against words, demons spewing things at him was like water under a bridge, a very high, sturdy bridge. He just looked at her, not showing emotion as he had become accustomed to doing. Even looking at these things the wrong way would get him a nice bruise or broken bone, always somewhere that wouldn't interfere too much with his tasks.

Instead he just shrugged his shoulders and looked past her once again. This time his son looked thoroughly confused and frightened. He looked at the demon once again, knowing she wasn't aloud to hurt him too badly and then walked around her. His boldness stunned her for a moment and she let him pass. He made his way to his son, taking in the damage done on the way. He was filled with anger, but relieved that he had done something in time to truly save his boy.

"Dean. It's been a while." He smiled at his son. Dean just nodded dumbly, at a loss for words and unable to voice any. John shook his head and stared the young man in the face. "I'm sorry about all this. I never meant for this to happen, but I didn't have a choice. You would have died if I hadn't done anything. I know Sammy was trying to save you, but the demon had his claws in you so tight that there wouldn't have been anything your brother could have done." He looked down for a moment, almost ashamed at the admission. There were few things Sam couldn't do, and the fact that saving his brother had been one of them, if only that one time, made his heart ache.

_Dad, how are you even here? I mean you were…_ Dean thought, hoping his father could understand his question, could hear it. Not that he needed to because the look on Dean's face said it all.

"I didn't trade my life for yours Dean. The demon just made it look that way, it was the only way I could get you back. I knew that if you and Sam were together, you'd be alright. You wouldn't need m-." John stopped at another painful truth. Dean shook his head adamantly denying it but John just smiled a knowing smile of acceptance. "It's alright Dean. I had known it for a long time, I'm fine with it. I only cared that you two would be ok, and that you'd be alive. I didn't trade my life, I traded my service. I traded what I could, he didn't want me dead. I imagine he respects me too much to want me dead, but, to have me as a kind of servant…Dean, in no way can you make that your fault." John changed his tone considerably in the last statement. It was full of truth and a firm confidence that flowed right through Dean's being.

His father was making everything better, like Dean had always wanted him to, needed him to. He was giving his eldest son everything he'd need to keep going. He smiled at his father thankfully, looking like the weight of the world had just lifted from his shoulders.

"I am so sorry son. I never should of said what I had said. It was cruel to lay that pressure on you, I know that but I need you to be prepared for what might happen. But after watching you two over the last while, I'm more sure than ever that you can save him. You always could." John had tears of pride in his eyes. He had stated the most honest thing he could think of.

Dean was choked up too. But quickly both men covered it as the years of being together and having non-chick flick moments kicked in. It was amazing how quickly they resorted back to the way things used to be and accepted their reuniting.

'Meg' had been standing around long enough and decided to step in at this time. "Well it's nice that you think that John. But you know as well as I do that my father won't give up. Not on Sammy, he's far to important to just kill and cast aside. If it was anyone else we would been fed up with them a long time ago. Again, you should consider yourself lucky." She was gaining her cockiness back and it pissed off the two conscious men.

That's when the object of their attention decided to return to the waking world. He groaned and 'Meg' turned towards him, a smile growing on her face. _This should be interesting._ She thought. John turned to his youngest as well and after shooting a glance at Dean, who nodded in earnest, ran over to his youngest son. He knelt in front of him, not realizing he was kneeling in blood until it soaked through his pant leg. He looked down at it and concern etched itself into his already tired features. He gently placed one hand on his sons shoulder and the other under Sam's face, lifting it off the ground to get a good look at his son.

He looked pale, he was sweaty and his breathing was slightly laboured, probably just from pain though. John quickly checked his pulse and found it strong if not a little fast. Sam moaned again and John focused on his son's eyes, waiting for them to open. He gently shook Sam's shoulder, trying to rouse him faster. Sam's eyes started to flutter and when his eyelids cracked open he saw the figure in front of him. He knew it wasn't Sarah because it was too big, so he turned to the only other option.

"Dean?" He whispered, his voice a little hoarse and his tongue dry. He was so thirsty, and hungry. He couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten something. He spoke the name again as his eyes started to focus, the bright light behind his brother's head making it harder. But his eyes quickly snapped open when he saw what he could have sworn was facial hair.

"No, Sam. It's not Dean." Sam froze, his eyes searching frantically over the person in front of him. He saw a little more clearly now. Dark hair, scruffy, brown eyes, and definitely a lot older than he was. He couldn't believe what his eyes were telling him because it was impossible.

"Dad?" He whispered, shell shocked and still not believing. When the man nodded his head, Sam shook his. "No…no you aren't him. You can't be. He's dead…he died because of me. You can't be here…" his mind was so fractured by everything that he couldn't put things together. He couldn't stop the words of denial, and he couldn't stop his emotions. He wasn't in control by any means.

So instead of accepting it, he broke down. He tried to move away, but found he couldn't. His body hurt so much and his heart wasn't in it anymore. He didn't want to do this, he wanted to be left alone and just give up. But the man pretending to be his father held him tighter and pulled him towards him carefully, resting his chin on the top of Sam's head and hugging him to him.

The sobs from his baby boy made him want the world to disappear and it to just be him and his boys. He didn't care about anyone else. He wanted this to be over, had wanted it to be over for a long time. He kissed the top of his son's head while softly speaking all the things he had never said before, trying to sooth the younger the way he had the older.

His son stopped crying and looked up at him. He believed it now, he just didn't know how, but to tell the truth, he didn't care. He looked around his father to see Dean and Sarah watching them, and he became suddenly uncomfortable. It was like he was on stage and he became very embarrassed. What was worse though is that he felt ashamed for showing this emotion in front of a demon when he had promised he wouldn't.

He lightly pulled away from John who looked down and nodded reassuringly, he was ok with Sam's break. Sam nodded back, smiled at his father and then sniffed, sucking it up. Replacing the tears with renewed strength.

Dean smiled at them too, finally things were ok. If only their predicament was. 'Meg' was still watching, her face blank, but slowly changing into a sneer. "Well isn't this sweet. It's like one big family reunion. Well except for Mary of course. But moving on now, we've got some important things to talk about. It's a good thing you woke up Sam, we're going to need you for this." She smiled at him sweetly and licked her lips.

Sam grimaced and looked away, fighting the urge to gag. John looked down at his youngest again and saw his reaction. He looked at Dean questioningly and all Dean could do was make a face. Sarah caught John's question and her smile grew.

"Oh yah, John I don't think you've actually met my meat suit. We never got the chance to introduce ourselves. This is Sarah Blake. I don't know if Sam had told you anything about her but let's just say, they got friendly. Not as close as Jess, but close." She smiled again as John looked back at Sam who was glaring at the demon with enough intensity to make John realize it was true.

He looked back to the demon angrily. "You people really need to stop messing with my sons. Hurting people they know and love isn't going to help you get what you want. Hell after taking me, Sam and Dean were just as strong as before." He said it with so much finality that he almost believed it himself. He knew his sons had been one step closer to the edge and he couldn't help but blame himself. Neither boy had come to terms with his 'death' and they each had decided to shoulder the responsibility for it.

Under pretty much any other circumstances, them being reunited again would have been one big chick-flick moment that all three men would have denied of ever even existing later on. But right now, their reunion meant anything but good news.

'Meg' walked towards the stairs, turning her back on her prisoners before reaching the first step and spinning around. "Well, since you broke the rules and messed up my fun, I guess we're just going to have to get down to business." She paused and looked to Sam on the floor. "There's someone who's been dying to see you again." She sneered when Sam continued to glare but also shifted uncomfortably. She then turned back to the stairs and climbed them, slamming the door shut hard enough to make the floor shake slightly.

John waited until he couldn't hear her footsteps anymore before facing his boys and finding their eyes on him. He sighed and averted his gaze for a moment. Dean looked from his father to Sam and became even further frustrated by his inability to talk. He gave Sam a meaningful look that his younger brother seemed to understand because he looked to his father and took a breath before speaking.

"Dad…how are you even…you know…here?" Sam couldn't look his dad in the face and was hesitant to ask, not sure if he wanted to know the answer. John looked back to his boys and scrubbed a hand across his coarse chin before answering.

"When you found me in the hospital." he paused, seeing the pained look on Sam's face. "I saw it all happen, you just couldn't see me, the demon made sure of that. What you found was something that he made you see, I guess sort of…a doppelganger…without the shape shifter or anything like that. He created a form that looked like me, but it never really existed in the first place."

He waited for their reaction, letting things sink in a little bit. Dean was the first to speak, though John wouldn't have known it.

_Why would he do that? Why wouldn't he just kill you…god knows the bastard tried hard enough…_

Sam turned his eyes to Dean, listening to his questions. John glanced between his sons, from Dean's questioning gaze to Sam's at tentative expression. Something bigger was happening and he had a feeling things were about to get weirder.

Then Sam spoke, "Dean wants to know why he would do that…why he wouldn't just kill you." Then he was quiet and waited for his dad to answer. At first John said nothing, just stared at his youngest with a blank expression. Then slowly reality must have set in as his eyes widened and his mouth hung upon ever so slightly.

"You…you can hear him?" John asked carefully, he didn't really know how to approach this topic so he thought he might as well jump to it. "You can hear what he's thinking?"

Sam shifted his gaze between his brother and his father. _Man…how do you explain to your 'dead' father that you're more of a freak hen he remembers._ He looked to Dean for help but he just shrugged in his chains.

_Sorry kiddo, you're on your own there…can't answer for you…_ Dean was being sarcastic but in the concerned kind of way. Sam also detected frustration and knew that he'd have to bring up the issue of Dean's silence soon.

"Uh…well yah. I don't know how but a couple of days ago…after the gentlemen took our voices I started to hear Dean's voice in my head and thought at first that it was just me until the pieces started fitting together with what he was actually thinking." John continued to stare and Sam began to get concerned. "Dad, you can say something anytime…now would be good."

John was freaked out, to say the least but also amazed. How could his boy have these powers. When he first thinks about all the things his son can do he figures it's actually more of a blessing. If he can hear Dean's thoughts, then they can communicate during hunts without making sounds, confuse their enemies etc. And the visions…well those are pretty obvious, they only do good. _Asides from the pain it causes my son. _He thought bitterly.

Then he started thinking beyond that, putting pieces together in this puzzle. Everything he knew about the gentlemen, Sam, the demon…everyone involved for that matter. The last thing, the thing he didn't want to believe and had never wanted to have to share with his eldest, was the last piece he put in. He looked at the picture the puzzle created, and shivered.

He looked at his two sons, his babies, and shuddered. He didn't know how to hide the fear in his eyes this time. Dean made eye contact and, when the older brother suddenly took on a look of horror, that he understood now too. Sam though, Sam just looked frightened by what he was seeing in his family's faces, his worry had officially went up a couple hundred notches ad was bordering on panic.

Finally John said something, not much, but it wasn't what anyone wanted to hear.

"Oh god Sam, I'm sorry…"

Part 3

Sam blanched. He had so many things going through his head and he had to get the out or he'd go crazy. Even so the only thing he could manage was fear in the form of frustration and anger.

"Why does everyone keep saying that to me!?" He half yelled the question to no one or to everyone, it was hard to tell. His tone was frustrated but his family knew it to come from a scared man, someone confused and unsure of his destiny.

John wished now that he hadn't said it but it needed to be said, they needed to talk about what was most likely going to happen when Sarah/Meg returned. The first issue to address was Sam's abilities and his new break throughs…literally.

"Sam, how did you get your voice back exactly. Did you feel anything when you did?" John asked rather urgently.

Sam was a little taken aback by the question and paused to contemplate his answer. "When Dean was…anyway, it just sort of happened. I did feel something…it was like when I moved that wardrobe at Max's or when I melted my locks earlier…it just feels like a punch. It's just adrenaline and stress…I guess…urgency." He answered honestly, splitting his eye contact between his brother and his father trying to explain it clearly. Both of the two men nodded thoughtfully.

"Ok…wait…you can move things too? And what locks…" John glanced around the room and spotted the other set of chains on the ceiling, but no locks. He frowned.

Sam followed his gaze and quickly explained. "Sarah, I mean Meg…she broke the locks after I had half melted them."

John looked back to his son. "Why did she break the locks?" _That doesn't make any sense._

Sam shifted uncomfortably and looked down but not before John saw the heat rise in Sam's face. Dean also seemed disturbed, and disgusted. John got the picture and suddenly became worried that maybe there was a little more to Sam's state of mind than he had thought. _This is going to get awkward…_

"Sam…she didn't…so anything to you did she?" He tread lightly, in case it was a touchy subject. Sam shook his head while keeping his gaze on the floor. John frowned again. _Well that's convincing._ He thought. He questioned again, needing to know the truth.

"She didn't…um…go too far did she?" _Oh god that sounded even worse than it did in my head…great parenting there John, way to go._ He berated himself, ashamed that he couldn't just come out and ask his boy.

Sam's head shot up. "No! No…" And this time when he shook his head John believed him and sighed in relief. At least he had stepped in before that had happened. But now he had to get back on track.

"Ok, good. Um…so you melted the locks, you moved a wardrobe…anything else I should know about?" He was getting worried now, all these abilities presenting themselves, being brought out of his youngest.

"I think that's about it…I had a vision a couple nights ago, I started hearing Dean's thoughts before that…I melted the lock…oh and I also moved a needle that was imbedded in my back." He said and looked up at the ceiling to find the needle. He spotted it still embedded in the concrete ceiling and nodded towards it.

John followed his son's gaze and saw the needle as well. He whistled under his breath seeing how it had been driven straight through the concrete. _He must of really needed that needle out…_He thought sadly.

_Sammy, what about this vision…I never heard anything about that. _Dean questioned worriedly. Sam turned his attention to his brother and his eyes saddened.

"It was about that couple…the people you tried to save. I saw the gentlemen approach the house…I saw them go in and then you appeared right after that. Next thing I knew I was inside the bedroom and…uh…those things were standing around the couple. They woke up right before you got there. I saw the gentlemen drag you in and then they drugged you and took you away." Sam stopped for a moment to catch his breath while John watched quietly and Dean shook his head sadly.

Sam continued. "Once you were…gone…they went back to the couple and they killed them. Cut the man open and removed his…his heart. When they were done with him all of them left except for one and I thought…hoped…that she would be ok. But, it drove it's hand through her and killed her too. That's it" Sam couldn't look anywhere but the floor. He didn't want to say how he had tried to save his brother, he didn't want Dean to know about his weakness once he had gotten there and found everything the monster's had left, and what they had taken.

_You mean you saw the whole thing? No fragmented images…no flashes?_ Dean asked, somewhat baffled. Sam shook his head and so Dean asked another question. _What did you do after the vision?_

Sam laughed humourlessly. "I ran to the house, went inside, went upstairs…You already know I was too late. I found the couple in the bed where the gentlemen had left them." He stopped there, he didn't want to continue and didn't think he could while keeping his composure.

_Oh…that must have been horrible…I'm so-_

"Don't say it Dean. Just don't alright? There's been way too much apologizing and every time I hear it something bad happens." Sam shook his head sadly and Dean's eyes became downcast for a moment then nodded in understanding. Sam looked back to John who was very quiet and not sure of what to say or what to make of everything Sam had just said.

"Sam, look son. I know things have been hard…harder then is fair. But…I'm afraid things might get a lot harder soon. I'm tellin' you both this because I need you prepared. Right now Meg is upstairs informing someone of everything that's happened since she the last time she came down here. We're sitting in the basement of a mansion right now, in the mountains surrounding Vale, in other words…we're in the middle of nowhere. No one's gonna be comin' to help us, no one else knows I'm alive and I'm assuming no one knows you two are here on this job either. Am I right?" John paused to allow the nods he knew were coming. "Alright, so we gotta handle this on our own. When Meg comes back down, she won't be alone. Now I'd love to tell you that she's gonna be with another of her brothers or sisters, but the reality is…her father is gonna come down here next. When I blew my cover, I broke a serious rule. I wasn't supposed to get involved when you two were…well…obviously they knew I wouldn't be able to just stand by and do nothing. Even though they were planning on me interfering, it doesn't mean they won't be angry so what ever they do to me…don't give them what they want. I've been hearing them talk, you'll understand what I mean soon enough."

John finished his speech, a sad subject, but something that needed to be said. His boys now had their game faces on, ready to do anything their father ordered them to if it was humanly possible. It seems that they missed following their father's orders while he was 'dead' and were willing to follow them now if it meant being with him.

"Alright, now that that's cleared up, let's focus on you boys until they get back. Dean, how about we get you down from there and check on your chest, then we'll figure out how to get you your voice back." John moved to do just that. He reached his son and observed the locks holding him in place before glancing around trying to find something to pick them with.

"Ah Dad? The last time I picked those locks, I used these two syringes…they should be on the floor somewhere. I think they got kicked over towards that wall." Sam said motioning to the wall behind Dean. John stalked around his son and scanned the floor for the described objects. Though it disturbed John to know that syringes were involved at all, he had to be thankful in this case that they were present.

He spotted them just shy of the wall and quickly scooped them up. He moved back to his eldest and quickly picked the locks holding him up. He grabbed around Dean's waist while Dean slowly dropped his arms, careful of every move. Together they worked to reach the floor, John supporting his sons weight while Dean held in every grunt and gasp of pain that wanted to escape. It was true, the good little soldier was definitely in place right now.

He was finally seated on the floor, massaging his arms and legs. John patted his son on the shoulder affectionately before standing and moving towards his youngest. Sam's ankles were easy to free, the rope simply cut away by one of John's many hidden knives, His wrists in the other hand were a little trickier and John had to make a journey back to Dean's position to get the syringes he had dropped to catch his son.

When he came back he picked the locks on his son's cuffs and threw them across the room, not liking what they had done. As Sam brought his arm to the front, the other still pinned beneath him as he was laying on his side. John lightly grabbed hold off it while wrapping his other hand under his son's body to help lift Sam off the floor into a sitting position.

Halfway up Sam started to feel the tear in his back stretching and had to bite his lip to keep from crying out. But when he was almost sitting, his father moved his hand to just above the wound and pushed. Sam couldn't hold in everything at once and let a small cry escape, his pain becoming known to John. As soon as the cry was let loose John let go while Dean pushed himself to his feet and moved as quickly as he could to his brother's side.

"Sammy, where's it hurt? Is it your back?" Sam nodded at his dad's question while Dean was already in motion. He leaned his brother forward carefully against his shoulder to get a look at his lower back. He hissed in sympathy seeing the jagged edges of the flesh and the definite infection forming. John moved to examine it as well and looked at Dean with concern before looking back to Sam who was holding his breath, waiting for them to let his know how it looked.

_Listen Sammy, you're getting an infection but it's not bleeding anymore. If we patch you up with something…it might be ok until we can get the hell out of here and get rid of the infection alright? _Dean thought in a calm and determined tone. These demons had messed with his brother, and anything that does that pays the ultimate price.

Sam nodded his understanding and John only assumed that Dean had explained it to him. Turning to Dean he remembered the other thing they needed to take care of. "Hey Sam…do you know how to get Dean's voice back?" John knew that Sam was always the one to do the research so if anyone knew…it would be him.

Sam nodded and quietly said, "Yah…um…the ceremonial box over on that table…open it and all the voices should come back." He gestured to the box and then looked at Dean. "You should go open it." Dean looked hesitant so John put his hand on the older boy's shoulder.

"Stay with Sam, I'll go open the box." He nodded and stood. Walking over to the table he saw the small item. It never ceased to amaze him how so small an object could cause so much damage to so many people. He reached out to it and expected at any moment for that cruel twist of fate when he never actually came in contact with it…when something would get in the way. But strangely that something never came. His fingers brushed against the lid and without waiting for fate to change it's mind he quickly flicked it open.

Nothing happened, no bright lights, no dramatic mist and no sounds that weren't there before. He looked back to his sons and saw that Dean's attention was still on his brother, he hadn't noticed the opening of the box but the way he was softly rocking and the way Sam was so relaxed made him thankful that Dean didn't seem to care. He could imagine all the things his oldest son was thinking in order to comfort his youngest, he had always been able to do that and it appeared that he could now do it in totally silence as well.

Then John wondered if it had worked, if Sam could still hear his thoughts does that mean that it hadn't worked or that it didn't matter if it did or not? John decided he needed to know.

"Dean." Dean looked at him. "Did it work? Try talking."

Sam and John watched Dean while he opened his mouth and took a breath. Sam received a message in the midst of it all.

_Here goes nothing…_

And then the door at the top of the stairs opened and two people walked into the room. Black eyes focused on John with a sneer on her lips, lips that did not belong to her. While the black was on the oldest man, the yellow was on the two younger men on the floor.


	16. Secrets

Chapter 16: Secrets

Part 1

Sam looked into Sarah's eyes before turning to the man with her. Sadness, guilt, fear and rage coursed through him when he met the eyes of the demon who had taken so much from him and all the yellow did was smile at him.

"Why Samuel…not so happy to see me? Well that's too bad now isn't it." He acted disappointed, but he was absolutely thrilled to finally have Sam in his grip. This was it, he knew it was…there was no way that Sam would be making it out of this with his family.

Sam simply glared at the man, unwilling to respond and also pretty sure that if he tried to talk all that would come out would be a croak. His throat had closed as soon as he had made eye contact and hadn't quite opened yet. He glanced desperately towards his brother, who was also looking like a deer in the headlights. Fear coursed through him, the last time anything like this had happened Dean had barely made it out alive and Sam didn't know if either or them could handle that again.

When Dean noticed Sam's eyes on him, he gave his younger brother a slight smile, reassuring him and settling his fear that maybe Dean wouldn't be ok at all. Thankfully Sam got the message and instead shifted his eyes to his father. John stepped protectively in front of his two sons, creating a shield of determination, love and muscle.

The Demon smirked at John and 'Meg' nearly laughed out loud through her own glare. Her father shot her a look and she immediately controlled herself, her face becoming blank but her eyes flashing angrily. Dean shot her a smirk and she had to restrain herself from walking over and literally pulling it off his face.

John seemed unfazed by the demon's humour and stood his ground, his face stoic and hands clenched. The yellow-eyed bastard stepped towards him, deliberately moving at a snails pace towards his prey.

"John, it seems no matter how good you are at giving orders, you lack the skill of obeying them. I thought I made it quite clear that you were not to interfere with our plans. But now look what you've done, all our plans have to be changed now." The demon glared angrily at the father and waited for a reply.

"Sorry, but I'm not one to sit by and watch his sons be tortured. I guess I missed that in the 'How to be a good slave' handbook." So that's where Dean gets his humour from. The demon thought humorously. It ignored the crack and attacked John instead.

"The only thing you've manage to do Johnny-boy, is make this more difficult on yourself and your boys. I was going to make this quick and painless, but now? Now I think I'm going to draw it out. My daughter hasn't quite had her fill of fun yet and I think I should let her play for a while. After all…she did get us this far didn't she?" He looked almost proudly at 'Meg' while she kept her black, soulless eyes on Sam. She was deliberately making her idea of 'fun' known to everyone present and the Winchester men could only silently shudder and hope it never got to that, Sam didn't know if he could handle it.

Suddenly a voice rang out among them, as cocky and sarcastic as ever; one John and Sam had been longing to hear. "Yah well, can we get on with it then? There's no point in standing around and talking if we could be doing something more productive." Dean said with a smirk on his lips.

This time the look the Demon gave his daughter made her smile. She gladly walked past her father, straight to the older brother and abruptly slammed her fist into his face. It was a mean right-hook by anyone's standards and sent Dean to the ground while John and Sam made their moves to help.

John found himself suddenly flying across the room and then stopping when his body made contact with the wall, his ribs and spine groaning in protest. Sam, on the other hand, couldn't move at all, not a muscle. He was rooted to the spot and the only thing he had under control was his face. His eyes angrily locked upon Sarah and did not look away while he battled the force keeping him in place.

He knew after only a few short minutes that he wouldn't be moving from that spot if the demon didn't want him to and he also knew that that was a very bad thing. It left him wide upon for attack and completely incapable of protecting himself or anyone else for that matter.

He looked at Dean who was now rising to his feet, and angry scowl on his face and a bruise spreading across his jaw line. Dean met his eyes and noted the panicked look.

_Hey Sammy, I'm alright. What's wro-…You can't move can you?_

Sam didn't shake his head or appear to make any attempt to respond except that his eyes told Dean everything he needed to know. The next thing he noticed after his younger brother was that his father was now on the other side of the room, pinned to the wall. Dean felt lost for a second, they were so overpowered and he was betting they were outnumbered too. So he resorted to what Dean Winchester did best.

"You know, you really got to get some new material. This whole 'pin him to the wall' thing is getting old and frankly? It's not really fighting fair is it." Dean could actually feel his brother's eyes roll at him and the Demon simply grinned wider.

"Dean you never cease to amaze. Do you wanna know what else is getting old my boy? This façade of yours, this mask you wear to cover all the pain and fear you feel every minute of every day. It's pathetic, a real man would come to terms with the emotions, use them to their advantage, use them to make him stronger. But you just deny them and cover them up, pushing them into a corner until they go away." The Demon scoffed at him and spat on the ground. "Coward."

Dean glared for all he was worth. He might hide some emotions, but anger wasn't one of them and sometimes it did make him stronger. Not this time though, this anger was all-consuming, blinding and crippling all at once. It left him speechless and frozen.

The Demon sneered and flicked his wrist, sending Dean crashing into the wall across from his father, and effectively, leaving Sam to stand in front of the monsters alone and unprotected. Both John and Dean felt a cold shiver of fear slip up and down their spines.

Sam on the other hand had let his anger, fear and hatred harden him, making him indifferent to what they were going to do. His only thoughts were how to get his father and brother out of here alive and in one piece. He had just found his brother not too long ago and his father had just 'returned' from the dead…he couldn't lose either one again.

"So, what are you gonna do to me this time? Talk me death? Torture me? Or is it a surprise?" Sam could still work his jaw it would seem as he spoke the words coldly.

The Demon's eyes sparked with anger and he growled deep in his throat. "That's no way to talk in your position. Trust me, acting like your brother won't get you very far. Look at what happened the last time he tried the sarcastic, bad-ass approach. I ripped him apart remember? Or do you need me to refresh your memory?" He sneered cruelly when the youngest hunter's eyes suddenly widened with panic. He glanced desperately at his brother but nothing happened so he looked back to the Demon. Harsh laughter met his ears and Sam inwardly cringed at the sound.

"Oh Samuel, you are too predictable. Threaten your family and you melt, you'll do whatever anyone tells you to do in order to save them. Well guess what? I'm relying on that fact to get me what I want." The Demon turned it's amber eyes on Dean and smiled savagely. "How does it feel to be used against your brother like that? Used to help end his life as little Sammy Winchester?" Then it looked to John. "And the same for you John. You're are going to be partially responsible for what's going to happen to your youngest." It laughed again, feeding off of the despair and anguish in the air around it.

"And what exactly will happen? What is it you want from me?" Sam asked angrily, confused and frustrated beyond all fairness. The Demon looked at him, almost surprised.

"You mean you don't know? Oh Johnny you didn't tell your youngest about his destiny?" He looked again at the eldest hunter who glanced at Dean quickly before averting his eyes back to the Demon. But it had seen him, the gesture told him something that was absolutely delicious.

"But I'll bet you told Dean didn't you? I'll bet he knows all about what's going to happen to Sammy, what he's going to become. Don't you Dean-O." It stared at the older brother, waiting for a response but received nothing more than a glare. Still, it knew everything it needed to know and could now easily turn it around to hurt the members of the family he despised to much.

He moved to stand directly in front of Sam, his eyes level with the youngest man's and only a few scant inches of space between them. The look in his eyes, on his face, terrified Sam to no end and so had what he had heard.

_Is this the secret Dean wouldn't tell me? What Dad had told him?_

"Well what do you think? Should I let Sammy in on the secret, tell him about his future?" The Demon stared directly into Sam's eyes, reading his fear and loving every second of it.

John and Dean looked at each other for a moment in stunned horror and only one thing came to Dean's mind.

_Please no…_

The demon just stared, boring his way into Sam's mind, imposing on his emotional privacy. He resisted the urge to lick his lips when he touched the emotions dwelling inside the tortured young man but it was so enticing. He allowed himself to do it once, his tongue flicking out once and receiving a shudder and glares in response.

Sam was standing strong, on the outside but he knew the demon sensed everything in him and felt shame wind it's way through the whirlwind of emotions that the demon was lapping up. He composed his face though, not showing the emotions to his family so he could at least appear strong for them, give them hope. Even if it was false hope.

Then he heard Dean in his head. Please no… And his fear shot up, his eyes faltering and turning to his brother quickly with a slight panicked gleam in them. What could be so bad that Dean would be so scared, so worried to beg? What ever it was Sam now knew without a doubt that he didn't want to hear it, but it also appeared that he wouldn't have much of a choice.

"Well I think the jury's out on this one Sammy. So, which door is it going to be? It all rides on you…" The demon snarled the last bit, a wicked grin on his face. The face no longer looked human, and now that Sam thought about it, it never really had.

Sam glared and had to unclench his jaw just to answer. "What the hell are you?" He said venomously. Ok, so not an answer but a question. A damn good one if you ask me…

What are you thinking Sammy? Dean asked curiously, it wasn't an accusation it was just a question and Sam imagined Dean was just trying to get into his little brother's head. Unfortunately he was incapable to do so, so Sam couldn't answer him. Sam only flicked his eyes over for a second, almost reassuring his brother that he was ok, not losing his mind under stress.

"What do you mean Sam? I though you knew what I was…I'm a demon." He sneered rudely and waited for Sam's reply. Sam just gave him an glare that screamed 'ha freakin ha' and didn't make any attempt to respond.

"I think you know what he means you slimy son of a bitch. That 'meat suit' your possessing doesn't even look human to begin with." Dean filled in for Sam, knowing his brother was stubborn and didn't like to be talked to like a child meaning Sam wouldn't say anything further on the subject until someone else did.

"Well smart ass, that's because this isn't a meat suit." The demon stated simply with only the slightest under tone of frustration. He seemed upset that he had to explain this all to them but also delighted that they couldn't just tell right off the bat. It appeared he still had a few tricks up his sleeves.

John piped in then. "What do you mean?" He growled out, his eyes staring at the demon but flicking every once in a while to visually check on his sons. They appeared to be fine physically and emotionally. Appeared to be, but John was their father, he knew their masks and he knew that they were being whipped out left and right to keep them from crumbling under the pressure of their situation. It was times like these where he was proud of his sons and of the training he had put them through. It paid off. Most of the time anyway.

"Alright, I think it's about time I came out with it but first. I wanna let you in on a few things. And I'm sure you are all going to want to listen up for this because I am not going to repeat myself." He paused, looking down right giddy. "And it all has to do with Rivergrove and Vale."

Dean and Sam looked at each other, shocked. How did the demon know about Rivergrove? They had suspected that he was behind the whole Vale case but Rivergrove? They thought another demon was responsible for that. John, though, just looked at his boys confused and feeling totally out of touch. What happened in Rivergrove?

The demon soaked in the confusion and chaos he had caused in the three restrained hunters. Sarah had not moved, had not spoken or made any attempt to express herself let alone interject. Now though she smiled, feeling what her father felt and knowing what was coming would mean she would be one step closer to her oh so tall, deliciously handsome goal.

The demon's voice cut through the silent tension like a knife and everyone returned their attention to him, expecting an explanation. "Yes, Rivergrove. I have to say that was one of my better achievements. I mean infecting was simple, one person and soon it spread like wild fire. That was the easy part. The hard part of course was getting you two there wasn't it? But luckily I had that covered too." The demon paused as if savoring the words and letting them linger, torturing the expecting men.

It was all Sam needed. "What do you mean infecting? I thought it was the demon Croatoan who infected everyone…not you." Then Sam found another thing in the demon's statement. "Wait…covered? How did you have that covered?"

"One question at a time young man." The demon said in an authoritative tone that made everyman bristle. It sounded like Sam was back in school and being reprimanded by his teachers for the questions he always fired like ballistic missiles. Or his father. Sam quickly banished that idea though and focused once again.

"It is the demon Croatoan, he happens to be a friend of mine. Child in fact. Getting him to do it would have easy enough as it was just ordering but all I had to do was ask. He had been itching for a chance at something like that for centuries. And like I said, I had you two covered." Again he paused, now driving the Winchester's crazy and even 'Meg' began to get impatient.

"That vision hurt didn't it Sammy? Came out of nowhere, ran quickly, and I imagine it was quite stressful to see your brother kill someone for no apparent reason." Sam looked upon him in shock as Dean glared at the demon with enough hatred to fuel the fires in hell. John looked to Dean quickly, questioningly and Dean glanced at him and shook his head, the gesture putting John at ease immediately.

"How do you know about the vision…" Sam asked quietly, hesitating to know the answer and expecting what it was.

"Because…I sent it to you. It was the only way I could ensure that you two gung-ho hunters would show up. And it worked. Within a day you had come to Rivergrove and by that night I had you exactly where I wanted you. Everyone was infected…except for you two and two others. That doctor, rest her soul, and master-sergeant, may he rest in peace." The demon went quiet while the boys stared at him blankly.

Then Sam's eyes went wide and he opened his mouth a couple times before closing it and not bothering to try again. He settled instead for glaring again. piThey're dead…he killed them…why?/i

Dean spoke though. "Well that's a great deduction oh all-knowing demon bitch, but you forgot someone."

"Did I?" The demon turned to the older brother, thoroughly amused by his statement.

"Yeah, I imagine demons have this fetish for the whole 'no survivors' crap. Like I said, you forgot someone. The kid, Dwayne…looks like you're not quite as thorough as you thought." Dean smirked and once again his swagger shone through the darkness in the situation.

A harsh laugh struck the air and it's volume and proximity made Sam flinch while John just growled and Dean continued to smirk, refusing to be disturbed.

"Perhaps your right. Or…perhaps I ripped his heart out with my bare hands and threw his soul into the fires of hell." He snarled and looked Dean directly in the eye. Dean's smirk didn't so much leave as morph, changing into a sneer of disgust, hate and confidence.

"You think I missed him. He was the first one to die, he was dead for days before the infection struck the town." Everyone was utterly confused and silent, watching the demon. "Croatoan is simply a name. One of my sons I named myself. He is a brother to who you like to call 'Meg'," he motioned to the woman beside him who smiled politely. "And a lesser demon much like herself. He cannot manifest himself and stand alone. He needs a host. Dwayne was chosen as a vessel for him and he infected his brother who in turn infected his father and others, rapidly spreading the virus that my son contained in his being. The virus I granted him upon his birth."

Sam understood then. Why Dwayne wasn't infected, who he showed up, why the other survivors were dead. It was him the whole time. They had been searching for the bastard culprit all the while 'protecting' him from everything else. Hell, Sam had even protected him from Dean. Now he wished he had let his brother do it, shoot the kid. It may have saved the Doc's and Mark's lives.

"He was possessed, the whole time he was with us, he was working for you?" Dean gritted out.

"Yes, you protected him from a plague he started, he hosted. You kept him safe from everything that could harm him, everyone." the demon then looked at Sam pointedly and Sam knew that his thoughts were shared.

"Well it's not like we knew. I mean Sammy may be psychic but he can't read minds." Dean said without even realizing his mistake. Sam shot him a glance quickly and Dean widened his eyes innocently before realization dawned. As another laugh struck the air, Dean cringed slightly and turned an almost undetectable shade of pink.

"He can't huh? Funny, I thought he could. Maybe I'm wrong. Sam," he turned onto the youngest Winchester and stalked forward until he was only a couple of inches from Sam's face. "Rivergrove was a test. All of it was for you, I went through all of that trouble to see if you were ready, to see if you were of age. And what do I get?" He asked sarcastically, a smile tugging at his lips.

"A test…what were you testing?" Sam asked, trying to deny his guilt. It rised up in him like a torrent and he started feeling like his body count had just quadrupled in size.

"Always like to ask the obvious question don't you." Sneered the demon gleefully. "Well if you must know, the objective was to infect a certain someone. Let me give you a hint," the demon added playfully, leaning closer to Sam's face. "It wasn't Dean."

Sam scoffed and rolled his eyes at the monster in his face. Clearly this demon had no concept of personal space. Sam then actually laughed. "You think I don't know who you were supposed to infect? Let me think for a second. Oh yah, the nurse locks me in a room with her, says she's been waiting to get me alone the whole time and that it would soon all be over. Then she attacks me, punches me in the face and slices my chest open. But that's not the kicker, she cuts open her own hand and bleeds into me, which was gross by the way."

Dean stared at his brother torn between being proud or scared. Had Sam actually lost it? Or was he taking a page out of Dean's book and just reading it really well?

"Then after she infects and dies from a couple gunshot wounds to her back," Sam stopped mid sentence and turned his face to Dean. "Thanks for that by the way." Dean nodded dumbly and Sam turned back to his enemy who was smiling at him contentedly, expectantly. 'Everyone in the town ups and disappears without a trace. So I'm assuming, now correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm assuming that the goal was to infect me."

Sam stopped now and took a long breath. The youngest Winchester and the demon stared at each other for a long moment, neither blinking or flinching, neither looking away. Everyone seemed to hold their breath and there was complete silence for what had to be the longest minute in history.

Then the demon smiled at Sam, showing all his slightly pointed, off-white teeth to the young hunter who wished so desperately to knock them all out. "You have it all figured out don't you Sammy. See that's why I like you so much, you've got guts, smarts and an iron will. Those will all come in handy."

Sam shuddered so lightly that it couldn't be seen but he felt it. The fact that his best traits could be turned against his cause, against what his true human nature was in order to become whatever it was that the demon wanted made his stomach churn.

"But there's one thing missing. And I will get into that later." The demon smiled politely at Sam before backing up and looking to all the men. "It was a test in Rivergrove, a test that Sam passed with flying colors as expected. My son reported it to me shortly after you departure, he told me he thought no tests were needed. Now, normally that would have called for a punishment, thinking and arguing like that against my wishes. Punishment would be a trip back home, some alone time or a spanking." the demon grinned while his humour actually struck Dean as slightly amusing and he had to hold back his giggle. That would be menacing and manly…

"Then again, when it comes to my favorite human, I'm a little touchy. So therefore his punishment was death. He was arrogant enough, naive enough, to believe the tests were over, no more preparation needed. I on the other hand, knew differently. I wanted more before taking what I came for. So, I summoned you boys to Vale. The monster choice was a little tricky and required some planning but of course, being who I am, I managed it and everything turned out beautifully. You boys arrived, became afflicted by the silence and soon after, Sam discovered something. He discovered a new ability of his. The next step beyond that was to set up the second part of the test. I needed you captured, and I needed to create a situation desperate enough to bring forth your abilities, Sam. When you broke the spell over yourself and killed the gentlemen, my test was complete. And my daughter succeeded in her mission, coaching everything as it went along, overseeing my plans. It all went perfectly."

He turned to his daughter with a gleam in his eyes and smiled like a fond parent at her. Sarah looked down to the floor in respect before returning her gaze to the demon. He then spoke, "You will have what I promised you."

Sarah's face lit up so quickly it was almost inhuman. Whatever it was that he had promised her, it was clearly something she wanted badly, craved even. Then her smile turned mischievous and suggestive as she looked from her father to the young man closest the them for a quick moment. She winked at him and as she did so her eyes turned from black to the green Sarah had been born with.

Sam lifted his chin slightly and glared at her, repulsion in his stare. She simply smiled and licked her lips at him before returning her attention to her father and thanking him, kneeling before him gracefully. He touched her head and Sam had to hold back a snarl when his hand brushed her hair. Sarah's hair.

She stood again and faced the group of men although her eyes remained fixed on Sam, running up and down his frame and taking in everything about him. He ignored her, looking anywhere but her face. The demon smiled cruelly and couldn't help but find pride in his daughter at her ability to make him uncomfortable.

He focused solely on Sam, trying to find his way into the young hunter's head, to pass through his defenses. 'Meg' began to help, pushing at Sam's barriers. When none of them budged she started to hammer at them as her father did the same. Sam suddenly squinted his eyes and grit his teeth, holding in any sounds. His knees began to shake and he suddenly found he could move, unfortunately he was losing strength and blood loss wasn't helping.

He slowly sank to the floor, one knee at a time. God, how he hated this position. Kneeling, vulnerable physically but mentally raging and fighting with everything he had. The pain started to build from an ache into a blinding fire that built in his eyes until all he could see was the flames. The heat was burning so badly, so intensely he could swear he felt it in the tips of his hair. Soon it spread from his head and slowly made it's way down his spine, following his nerves to the tips of his fingers and underneath his skin. He clamped his jaw now, it cramping under the strain. But he couldn't hold back everything.

He growled in anger and pain and Dean and John could only look on. The growl sounded so animal that at first the older hunters feared this was it, Sam was going to change, become what the demon wanted. But they realized soon that it was all directed at the demon, the anger, the pain.

Suddenly 'Meg' flinched and stumbled back a few feet. Dean smiled widely, triumphant and proud. Still worried though he was, he was so proud of his little brother and couldn't hold in how impressed he was. He snorted a laugh. 'Meg' quickly glared at him and then focused back on the man who was now on his hands and knees, breathing raggedly through his teeth making hissing sounds with every breath he took. She squinted her eyes, now pitch black and sparkling dangerously, and snarled, mentally pushing once again.

Dean suddenly noticed that he was slowly becoming capable of moving. His left arm was now lowering and his legs were holding some of his weight. He figured that the demon was focusing so strongly on his brother that he couldn't split the focus or he just had forgotten. Over the next couple of seconds Dean gained more control until he was completely free.

John watched his oldest and youngest out of the corner of his eyes and was becoming more and more worried as the moments ticked past. Sam was now taking uneven breaths and his entire body was beginning to shake. What was more, fresh blood began to drip onto the floor underneath the youngest man.

Dean now stood, silently, unmoving. Sam didn't notice it, nor the wound reopening as it pulled. The only thing he could feel was a raging inferno. Oh god! Is this what mom felt!? Is this what Jess felt!? Aghhh.

Finally he had to let his jaw go, he thought if he held on much longer his teeth would break. He loosened up a little but it turned out to be a little too much when suddenly a scream ripped from his throat.

The scream was all it took for Dean to spring into action. He ran at top speed towards the demon, stooping as he did and picking up a fallen scalpel that had been left on the floor by the beasts. As he reached the demon it finally seemed to take notice of him and turned his attention away from Sam.

When his presence left Sam's head, he felt 'Meg' hesitate and withdraw but not before he felt her touch his mind softly, seductively. She left him a message.

Soon, you'll be mine, Sammy, and then you can behave as badly as you want.

Dean launched himself on the demon and landed on him, both on the floor. The demon lying on it's back not making an attempt to move or throw Dean off, it was kind of disconcerting. 'Meg' moved to help when the demon waved his hand at her, telling her to stay back. He smiled up at Dean confidently as one of the hunter's hands snaked around his neck, squeezing, cutting off the oxygen.

Sam sat on the floor, now sitting on his heels and taking big gulps of air. He saw Dean on top of the demon and watched them while continuing to suck air into his abused body.

"If you're manifested…I can kill you." Dean said with such hatred, such loathing that 'Meg' even flinched and felt a flash of fear for her father. But the demon continued to smile as his breathing began to wheeze when Dean's other hand joined it, the blade lightly grazing the demon's surface, drawing a little bit of blood.

What the demon said next made Dean think twice.

"You kill me…you kill baby brother." The demon snarled through gasping for air.

It was then that Dean head someone softly choke. He looked down at the demon to see him staring at Sam, focusing solely on him. He turned his eyes to his little brother and saw Sam's eyes begin to widen and his hands reaching up to his neck. The began to search frantically for a hand, something to explain his breathing problems but found nothing.

He continued to check and soon was leaning forward on his knees again, one hand no the ground, the other around his neck. He couldn't breath.

Dean watched, frozen. Then, "SAM!?" and his hands tightened around the demon's neck.

Everything was blurring, his throat was being constricted by something and his brain no longer had the oxygen to figure it out. His vision was starting to darken ever so slowly and all the voices in the room sounded far away. His whole chest was throbbing in pain, his lungs burning and screaming for air so loudly it blocked out all other things in his world.

Once again he was shrouded in his pain like a dark veil, or in this case, like a garbage bag someone tied over his head. He was leaning on the floor, the only reason he knew that was the pain shooting up his back and spine from the open gash he had obtained. But even that sensation was fading along with the burning in his lungs which could only mean one thing to his struggling brain: he was dying.

He had lost track of time and didn't know how long he had been choking but as he suddenly felt whatever invisible hand that was around his neck tighten, he choked out a yell and his fear spiked. His brain cleared for a moment, fuelled by adrenaline and also, suddenly, a sound at the end of the tunnel that he was hearing through. It sounded like his name, and whoever was calling him had a striking resemblance to Dean. It was Dean.

Sam struggled again for a second to coordinate his losing mind with his dying body in order for him to raise his eyes enough to see his older sibling. He spotted him through the black mist covering his eyes and what he saw suddenly made his heart beat a little faster even if it wasn't much as his heart was now beginning to slow.

Dean was straddling the demon who was looking at Sam intently, a knowing and cocky smile on his mutant lips. Dean's strong hands were wrapped around it's neck, the muscles in his arms bunching with the strain on his hands and the effort to keep the demon pinned. He saw Dean's hand tighten further and the demon's eyes started to loose focus slightly.

When Dean's hand tightened, the one around his own throat copied the action and Sam finally put the pieces together. And not a moment too soon as he let out a strangled scream to his big brother.

"De…ST…OP!" Sam's throat closed completely and the yell was suddenly cut off. Luckily the message seemed to go through and Dean immediately relaxed his grip, looking wide eyed at his younger brother. Then, in chilling slow motion, Sam' body relaxed and he fell forward onto his stomach. The only way you could tell he was alive was the frantic breaths he was taking and the way his body heaved every time his chest inflated.

The demon looked at Sam for another moment then turned his gaze to the hunter above him, his grin widening further. "Well Dean, that was interesting wasn't it?" That tone was going to drive Dean crazy.

Dean quickly bunched his fists in the demons shirt and lifted it's face closer to his own. He glared and growled under his breath, hatred burning in his eyes along with a badly hidden fear.

"What did you do to him!?" Dean demanded, needing to know exactly what had just happened although he was pretty sure it was the demon's doing. And if he's going to do lay some freaky mojo on my little brother, I'm going to know about it!

"Oh Dean, I didn't do anything. It was all you." The demon sneered and Dean had to restrain himself from punching the yellow right out of it's eyes.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Dean just continued to glare, continued to hate and he could feel wood being added to the raging inferno within his heart. If he wasn't careful, he'd end up killing the bastard without getting any of the answers that he, dad, and more importantly, Sam needed.

"You were choking me yes, but the repercussions clearly landed on Sam. Dean, I am not possessing anyone, this is my true form. If you were to kill this body, I would cease to exist. Now we both know that you would love nothing more than to do that and you have the perfect chance right here." The demon paused and Dean was about to decide that he'd had enough, he was going to kill this monster, but then the demon continued with an evil chill in his voice.

"But, if you kill me, you kill Sammy."

"Yeah, you said that already and I'm not going to let you use some freaky power of yours to choke him to death so you might as well quit with the threats. They aren't helping your situation." Dean sneered cruelly, fire in his eyes and ice in his voice.

"You don't understand do you? I mean that if you kill me, Sam will die regardless of what I do. You see, he and I? We're connected in more ways than you think. If I die, he won't be able to live on and his body will perish in the same manner as mine has." The demon had finally come out with it.

Dean's heart skipped a couple beats, a lot actually and he started wondering if it would ever start again. He quickly glanced to his brother who was lying face down on the floor, either unconscious or just concentrating on his breathing, Dean wasn't sure.

Sammy connected to the demon like that? No…I don't believe it…

He looked back to the creature beneath him and his eyes revealed his thoughts. The demon laughed softly and smiled knowingly.

"How can you not believe me? You saw what happened to your brother when you were choking me, is that not proof enough? Or do you want to try again?" Oh, that cocky bastard was gonna get it when Dean figured out a way to hurt him without hurting his brother.

Come to think of it, Dean did believe him as much as he hated it. It was another harsh reality and there were so many questions behind this newfound connection. Sam of course would think of every last one of them and Dean was afraid of the toll this would take on his already fragile and tortured little brother.

"So I can't kill you, how do I get rid of your demonic ass then?" Dean questioned, again harshly and venom dripping from every word he spoke. Suddenly Dean remembered something and quickly glanced over his shoulder to his father. Ok, the man was still there, he hadn't left or passed out or been killed while Dean wasn't looking. He had been so quiet that Dean had momentarily forgotten about him, his attention split between his brother and the demon.

He looked up and to his right to see Sarah simply standing with her arms across her chest. She was looking at Sam but sensed Dean's attention and looked at him briefly. Limitless anger and hate glared at him and he just gave a crooked, if not nervous smile and looked back to the demon. She clearly wasn't going to interfere as long as her father was going to tell her not to.

The demon opened his mouth and, with that tone again, said, "You don't. You let me go, or Sam suffers more than necessary." And again with the smile.

Dean glared for what felt to him like eternity before finally giving in and slowly getting up. He quickly backed up to his fallen sibling and, keeping his eyes on the demon, crouched beside him. The demon stood to his full height gracefully and didn't move any further.

Dean gently touched Sam's shoulder, glancing over his body to see it rising and falling with Sam's breaths and also taking in the slow gush of blood that had again started. He shook the shoulder beneath his hand gently but didn't receive a response so he slowly pushed Sam onto his side to look at his face. Sam was pale, sweaty and awake. His eyes were wide and held tears that he refused to let fall. A faraway, painful glint had the hazel and Dean inwardly cringed.

Obviously, Sam had heard every word and Dean wished he hadn't. Dean again shook Sam's shoulder and stared into his eyes trying to draw his brother out of whatever shell he had crawled into.

Sam's eyes slowly moved onto Dean's face and his body shivered. He was loosing a lot of blood and he knew it, but Dean was looking at him in that way, the kind of way that could make Sam do anything if it would Dean stop. He slowly and carefully began to push himself up so he could kneel or stand.

He winced and gasped when he put his legs beneath him, the action putting strain on his wound and causing pain to flash like lightning through his body. Dean quickly steadied him and helped him the rest of the way up until Sam was semi-comfortably seated on the floor. He offered a small smile to his brother who nodded gratefully. Sure he hurt, but he was alive right?

Then his face darkened and his eyes saddened. He turned back to the demons before him and opened his mouth.

Oh, here comes the interrogation. Dean thought sarcastically.

Sam closed his mouth and glared at Dean before continuing his actions. His voice sounded slightly cracked and weak. "So I suppose it's the same deal for you huh? I get hurt, you get hurt, vice versa." Dean looked at Sam slightly shocked and thought for a moment.

It makes sense that it would go both ways, I mean, our luck can't be THAT bad… Both Sam and Dean nodded slightly at each other with that conclusion.

"Yes, it is the same conditions for me as for you. If you get hurt I suffer identically. If you were to die then so would I."

Dean almost laughed, but the situation was slightly too serious for that/ "Ok, don't you think that it's a bit of a risk being connected to, not only a human, but a hunter? I mean we're in the line of fire every day."

The demon glared at him and answered coldly, "I did not choose to be connected to your brother. But I have been since his birth."

Dean suddenly thought of something and smiled. "Man, you've had a pretty hard life then haven't you? All the times Sammy got hurt…You must have been so scared that he wouldn't make it through life." It was all aimed to anger, Dean's defense was to offend.

Best defense is a great offense. His dad had always taught that to him, one of the things that fueled Dean's sarcasm.

The demon started forward and stood directly in front of Dean, mere inches from his face. "You think your brother made it through life without help?"

Dean snorted, "No, I know he had help. Dad was there and so was I." Dean stated it confidently and took pride in the fact that it was true, he had helped his brother through life.

It was the demon who snorted this time. "Believe me, you aren't to thank for all the times Sam's life was spared by whatever creature you were facing. How many times has Sam been in danger and miraculously made it out alive and nearly unscathed?"

Being a rhetorical question, Dean didn't answer. Instead he stood fast and stayed silent, waiting for the demon to continue.

"All those miracles are owed to me. I was always there just over your shoulder making sure you did not let Sam be killed. I have no want for death and so I kept Sam safe." Dean's eyes widened slightly but denial also entered.

Again though, and Dean hated to admit it, but he believed it. How could he not? Countless miracles had been witnessed by the Winchesters when it came to Sam and one of them was that he had made it passed his year of existence.

Dean quickly glanced at Sam who was staring in wide eyed fascination at the demon, also believing it's claim. He then focused on his father who looked to be grinding his teeth. Dean knew that the demon had insulted John's pride and more than that, his parenting skills. But John also appeared to be in shock, and from the look on his face, everyone in the room was in agreement. They couldn't deny the demon's claims.

Then Sam had an idea. Actually, it was more just his curious nature acting up. "What happens if I kill you?" Dean looked at him like he was crazy and was quickly joined by John.

The demon looked at Sam, slightly shocked but also appearing to be impressed. "Well Sam, you are just full of surprises aren't you? Why do you think that the outcome will be different if you are the one to kill me?"

Sam seemed to think for a moment before shrugging. "I guess I thought that if the connection was between you and me, there would be some kind of loophole. You know, different terms if I were to kill you."

The demon again stared for a second with definite delight. Then he nodded, "Very well done, Samuel. I didn't think you'd come to that conclusion but as it turns out, you did and you're correct."

All eyes fixed on him and everyone: Sam, Dean, John and even Sarah, chorused when they said, "He is?" Sam's response was slightly different but still said like everyone else's.

The demon laughed. "Yes, he is correct. If he were to kill me himself, then he would not die as a result. I would cease to exist and he would continue living. But, there are still repercussions. When I die, my powers, everything I can do will pass to him. Call it an inheritance of sorts. He will become stronger but will remain your precious Sammy Winchester."

Dean and John met each other's gazes and a million things passed through their minds. Inheritance? Powers? Stronger? He'd live? He'd still be Sam…And they were relieved, there was a way out. This wasn't futile and the demon could still be killed and they're vengeance could finally be ended.

As the demon gazed at Sam he saw the boy weighing things in his head. The demon could practically read Sam's thoughts as the boy tried to figure out a way to kill the one responsible for all the hardships that had befallen him. The demon smiled.

"Of course," everyone looked back to him. "That means that if I were to kill Sam, I would live."

Dean and John's blood ran cold, their hearts sped up and they began to fear. Maybe that's why the demon brought Sam here, maybe it is all to just kill the youngest member of their family and break the connections they shared.

Sam's train of thought ran along the same idea, being able to hear Dean's thoughts as clearly as his own. But for some reason something didn't make sense to him, too many questions unanswered and it didn't add up. Why would he go through all this trouble if he could have just flat out killed me himself long ago?

"What happens to you if you kill me? Do you get whatever abilities I have?" Sam questioned cautiously.

The demon looked frustrated and disappointed when he answered. "No, unfortunately it was one of the terms I had to agree to."

Then John finally joined the conversation and piped up. "Terms for what?" It was actually a demand. As it would turn out, John didn't much like being ordered around and now he was a bit on the short side with the demon.

"The terms and conditions I have to follow and had to agree to in order to buy my way onto this plain. Do you think I could just come to this world and not have to be punished for it? No. I had to buy my way in and one of the conditions would be that I would not be permitted to keep all of my power. It was split. I have spent my time since then hunting down my power and trying to regain control." He explained it angrily, he had not been counting on anything like that when he had arrived on Earth 23 years ago.

"So that's why you're going after the psychics? We somehow got stuck with your demonic abilities when you came here?" Sam was also angry, this had been forced upon him and had given him so much grief over his life.

"Samuel, there are no other psychics."

Dean was the first one to speak up. "Um…I'm sorry but are you tellin' us that there are no other psychics 'cause I could of sworn that's what you just said."

The demon looked at him and smirked while John and Sam stared silently. Just like Dean to make some smart-ass comeback. So predictable for a human… The demon thought to itself. He smiled after a few seconds and Dean had the urge to shiver but stifled it.

"Yes, that's what I said Dean. Glad to know all that ego hasn't made you deaf." The demon received a smirk for that one. Yellow eyes returned to Sam as it decided now would be as good a time as any to reveal part of Sam's past, present and future.

"You are the only psychic of your kind on this earth. When you were six months old I came to collect you, as for why, I will explain later. The problem with your family is that your mother was far too vigilant for her own good. She heard you crying, so she got up to check on you. I tried to portray myself as John but Mary quickly saw through that. If she hadn't come back when she did I would have had no need to kill her. As it happened, she came into the room and interfered, thus, earning her a grave."

Sam shook with rage and guilt, John was struggling on the wall once more, trying to reach the demonic son of a bitch who had taken one of the most precious things in his life from him. Dean had a mask on again, hiding the sadness he felt with his hatred for evil.

The yellow eyed bastard continued. "When Daddy dearest came in, that's when I knew I had miscalculated. Yes, I admit it…I screwed up. I figured your family was devoted, but I never imagined they'd be near suicidal, that they'd risk themselves to save you. Your father managed to get you away and I left a rather large mess behind. I also realized that I needed a cover, I couldn't have everyone know that little Sammy Winchester is as important to me as he is, that would be dangerous. So I attacked other families over the span of that year, creating a pattern I knew only a hunter would be able to find. Children who's mothers were killed in their nursery's, pinned to the ceiling above their cribs, fire. And then when they turned 23, a number I rather like, they would find they had an ability. It would slowly develop and it would become stronger, but they only ever possessed one and it never grew past a certain point."

Sam's mind was reeling. What so…not only my mother's death…but all those other kids' families…they're all my fault too? He could feel the stinging in his eyes growing stronger but refused to let tears fall. He looked down to the floor, hanging his head slightly in his crouched position. If the demon kept this up, he wouldn't have Sam Winchester anymore, he'd have a broken fragment of a once great hunter and human.

Dean watched his brother and the demon who was standing only a couple feet from Sam. He knew the tell-tale signs of when his brother was guilt tripping and it was crystal clear to Dean that his brother was doing that right now on a massive level. All the lives that had been ruined by the 'gifts' that were bestowed upon the children, the people who died, are dying, the hardships and prejudices. Sam had found a way to pin it all on himself and it broke Dean's heart that his little brother could even have a reason to consider himself responsible.

John knew many of these things, although not all of them. Right now they were treading into new territory, he was learning things he hadn't been prepared for. He had no idea that Sam was the only psychic and he was almost blind with rage thinking about how the demon has murdered those families and torn lives apart needlessly. What angered him most was the way the demon seemed to be pinning it all on his baby boy, his innocent Sam.

The demon sneered in pride at his ability to cause destruction with words, not just actions. "So, you realize Sam. Those families did not deserve the pain that was inflicted, the children did not have to suffer. But they did, all because of you and mommy dearest."

That got Sam past the guilt and into the anger stage. "You bastard! Don't you dare talk about her! It wasn't her fault, it was yours!" Sam screamed at the yellow eyes. He was struggling against the force holding him steady and he could feel it start to weaken under his anger. He soon was able to raise himself slightly so that he was no longer sitting on his heels but resting on his knees. It was his attempt at lunging towards the sick bastard in front of him. He hadn't gotten far, but the point was that he had moved.

The demon looked a little shocked but that quickly faded into a smug expression. "See, you are more powerful than any of the mere humans you've come across with their petty abilities."

Dean spoke up. "How, how did these kids get abilities if Sam's the only psychic?" He snarled out, almost daring the demon to explain it.

"Because, Deanie-boy, I gave them the powers. A small, insignificant, power that I bestowed upon them when I visited them that night. It will return to me when I wish it to, although the extraction could harm the hosts, depending on the power and persons strength. You however Sammy, I did not willing give to. You possess more than I could spare and now I need it back."

Sam looked at him. "So what, all of this for my abilities? Why wouldn't you have just taken them, hell, ask for them and I'll give them to you. Why all this trouble?" He yelled out, border lining on desperate.

"Because, I don't want to kill you, I want you to have your powers. If you have them, it'll only make me stronger. You are meant to join me, work with me for my goal and eventually…become a king." The demon watched Sam's reaction.

Sam looked utterly confused and mortified. "What…that makes no sense! You want my powers but you want me to have them!?" Sam yelled, border lining on desperate.

"He wants to use you Sammy, he wants you to turn." Dean said softly from where he stood. He looked into the eyes of his brother and silently apologized. "Correct me if I'm wrong." He snarled out in the demon's direction.

"No, you're quite right. I will use Sam and his abilities to help me towards my goal. Of course it's the usual vendetta, conquer the world, hell on earth, blah, blah, blah. I know it doesn't seem all that exciting to you boys but trust me, it's plenty exciting when you've witnessed it before." The demon looked into the distance thoughtfully, remembering and enjoying his memories.

Dean and John glanced at each other, beyond worried. They really couldn't see a way out of this, as much as they wanted to and when they saw the look on each other's face, they could see their were no ideas brewing in either of them. Looking at Sam, they felt nothing but fear for the youngest member of their family, the cursed member of their family. It seemed to them that everything that went bad, involved Sam. He was always getting hurt, always loosing people and parts of himself. He was by far the most tortured of them and by that fact the older Winchesters were tortured as well.

"Well that's too bad, cause…I'm not going to turn. There's no way in hell or heaven that I'd do that and if you doubt me, just ask Dean. Sorry…but, you're gonna have to kill me. I'd die before becoming like you." Sam gritted out, working his way to his feet.

The demon smiled calmly, smugly and it sent shudders through Dean and John. I guess I should let him know…The demon thought to himself. "Oh I don't know. You and me Samuel, we're more alike than you think. In fact…we're practically the same person."


End file.
